Nap Eyes just dropped “So Tired,” the second single from their upcoming album Snapshot of a Beginner. The song is the most recent example of the band’s habit of turning the improvisations of frontman Nigel Chapman into fully fleshed out songs and, more specifically, a criticism of that very process.
Chapman addresses this directly, though he is already literally spelling it out for you in this lyric video, just to make sure the message is getting across.
“The ‘So Tired’ refrain marks a slight shift in perspective and its meaning is twofold,” says Chapman. “For one, I get frustrated sometimes by what the world seems to require for success at a given task (for example, polished songwriting, coherent and understandable communication), so part of this is just me venting on this subject. Sometimes I would rather flow with free-writing than try to box songs into rehearsed, many-times-repeated containers.
“Second, at times I find myself wishing people would not hold so many preconceptions about the things in this world a given person might try to communicate. Most of us, myself included, usually assume we already know a lot – even about things we’ve spent very little time thinking about – and because of this attitude, people are often predisposed to misunderstand new ideas, even when they’re communicated in straightforward and coherent ways. But there’s no doubt, an idea won’t ever get through until there’s someone around to listen to it.”
And so we arrive at a universe of many truths, and the evolution of stream-of-consciousness into songwriting but, like so much spaghetti hitting the wall, who knows what will end up sticking.
Nap Eyes’ new album, Snapshot of a Beginner, is being released on March 27, 2020 via Royal Mountain & Jagjaguwar, in partnership with Paradise of Bachelors.
Tour Dates
03.04.20 – Toronto, ON @ Opera House *
03.05.20 – Montreal, QC @ Theatre Fairmount *
03.06.20 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair *
03.07.20 – New York, NY @ Brooklyn Steel *
03.08.20 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts *
03.09.20 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat *
03.11.20 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle *
03.12.20 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West *
03.13.20 – Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge *
03.14.20 – St. Louis, MO @ Blueberry Hill *
03.15.20 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room *
03.16.20 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater *
03.17.20 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge *
03.19.20 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos *
03.20.20 – Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre *
03.22.20 – Victoria, BC @ Lucky Bar
03.25.20 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
03.27.20 – San Francisco, CA @ Cafe Du Nord
03.28.20 – Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Bar
03.29.20 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah
03.30.20 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar
04.01.20 – Austin, TX @ Barracuda
04.02.20 – Dallas, TX @ Three Links
04.04.20 – Kansas City, MO @ The Riot Room
04.05.20 – Urbana, IL @ Rose Bowl Tavern
04.06.20 – Columbus, OH @ Rumba Cafe
04.15.20 – London, UK @ The Moth Club
04.16.20 – Liverpool, UK @ Leaf
04.17.20 – Glasgow, UK @ The Hug and Pint
04.18.20 – Leeds, UK @ Hyde Park Book Club
04.19.20 – Birmingham, UK @ Hare and Hounds
04.20.20 – Brighton, UK @ The Hope & Ruin
04.22.20 – Paris, FR @ Le Point Ephemere
04.23.20 – Brussels, BE @ Volta
04.24.20 – Rotterdam, NL @ V11
04.25.20 – Utrecht, NL @ Ekko
*with Destroyer