The Workman's Club, Dublin, November 25 (supporting Sky Atlas)
Written By Elina Filice
Dublin based four-piece NICETRY quietly took the stage to a quickly growing audience. They aren’t known to be talkative on stage, but when you play like this bunch do, everything speaks for itself. Meeting and banding at BIMM, NICETRY are one of the most prominent bands at the college at the moment, deserving the title for being endlessly dedicated to their craft. Every time I see this group they are better than the time before. They never let their songs get stale nor their sound get stagnant.
NICETRY seems to move and breathe as one. They are so in tune with each other throughout the performance, communicating through glance, gesture, and things unspoken. They understand their role in the NICETRY organism, four introverts on a handmade raft, drifting together to create a feeling.
Eunice Saraiva’s notoriously dreamy vocals float atop stratospheric, plucked guitar playing. A skilled songwriter and lyricist, her words cut deep into the muscle tissue of nostalgia, connection, and belonging. Despondent and haunting, her vocals seem to ground the songs as they grow and swell and come back down. The sonic energy is advanced by bassist Danilo Ward, who isn’t-just-another-bass-player, adding grooves, chords, and intricate bass patterns to every song.
The band seems to fall backwards into the lazy river groove of “Fall In,” and invite the audience along with them for the ride. I can’t imagine a drummer more perfect for the NICETRY auditory climate then Cam Teehan, who is energetic without being overpowering (except when required of him). I’ve always been jealous of Cian McDaid’s ability to make a guitar effortlessly sing. His ambient tele parts expertly embroider the sound, from rippling swells to detailed melodies and patterns. (But, when you shoegaze too hard, you break a string on the first song. Nice one Cian).
Another highlight of the set was “Willows.” During the memorable intro jam, the band creates a delirious soundscape, screaming guitars and pulsating bass delay construct the sonic cacophony being blended up and served onstage. Though crowded it was balanced; everything still had its place and purpose.
The songs all seem to have an element of light and dark, of full and empty, calm and storm, of four parts apart and together a one. Though what I would describe as indie/ alternative/ shoegaze, these bunch are sure to never lose sight of the importance of groove, harmony, and that emo-kid-now-in-their-20's feeling.