Nordic Retreat

Hourglass II

Iquitos

London

Catharsis Train

Hourglass I

Aubrey

Sunglasses After Sex

Sunglasses After Sex [single]

Radio Anxiety - Single

Radio Anxiety

LYNX

Flume [single]

Amuse Bouche

Pole Line Road

Gazelles

Nightbird Casino is experiencing a seismic, creative rebirth after returning to its oiginal lineup and coalescing its singular post-punk art-rock sensibility. The Medford, Oregon-based duos reset comes after releasing two full-length albums in five years. Nightbird Casino ushers in this new era with a series of artistically epiphanic singles seeding a path to its third album. 

Nightbird Casino features James on vocals, guitars, bass, ondes martenot, and piano; and multi-instrumentalist Kelly Hutchinson on drums, guitars, bass, keys, and occasional vocals. Nightbird Casino sometimes augments its sound with other members to replicate its densely textured artistry. The band has evolved into an experimental post-punk band that blends traditional rock instrumentation with electronic music. Its songs often feature lyrical but hypnotic basslines; splashes of melodic and moody processed guitar; layers of ethereal synth textures; taut and cleverly intricate drum patterns; and richly expressive baritone lead vocals.

James’s lyrics mirror the band’s abstract creativity with a poetic sense for non-linear lyrics which often feature passages juxtaposed together to create mosaics of ideas, thoughts, and feelings. Nightbird Casino has been favorably compared to Interpol, Bauhaus, Sonic Youth, The National, and Radiohead.

Nightbird Casino started out as a duo project featuring James and Kelly fresh out of the LA-based indie rock band I Lit a Fire. The twosome’s early freewheeling recordings found them exploring indie rock, modern classical, and full electronic music. Eventually, other musicians joined the fold, Kelly departed, and Nightbird Casino attempted to nurture a cohesive, signature aesthetic.

The quartet version of the group made its live debut in December 2021, and released its first single and video, “Sunglasses After Sex,” shortly thereafter. “Sunglasses After Sex” represents a fresh start for the band. The track opens with a fluttery, delay pedal-drenched guitar riff, and then the song locks into a tight groove with Landon Strine's melodic bassline and Oliver Collins' artfully propulsive drums.  “That song evolved from testing out a new delay pedal. This band has a psychological problem with pedals—our rehearsal space is crammed with like 70 pedals,” 

The single, “Radio Anxiety,” features slithering bass riffs, obtuse grooves, James’s commanding lowregister vocals, and ethereal synth wizardry. The song exudes a walls-are-closing-in sense of claustrophobia. James prefers listeners come to their own conclusions about his songs, but in a rare moment of disclosure he offers some insights. “That song is partly about the drudgery of day jobs,” he says. “You have to uphold a fake persona that is so different from who you are.” The starkly arty “Radio Anxiety” video exudes a striking tactile quality with the band playing among huge slabs of elegant marble in a warehouse. 

In early 2024, the band went on an indefinite hiatus but returned shortly after in its original lineup of just James and Kelly.

Up next, Nightbird Casino is working on its third album "Commerce & Horse Polo", which feels momentous and defining for the band. James says: “It feels like a debut album. The songs we’ve recorded and released have surpassed anything Nightbird Casino has done previously—it’s really exciting.”

Nightbird Casino

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