Depersonalisation

On their full-length debut, Depersonalisation, Nite Fields build on the blurred-around-the-edges blend of shoegaze, post-punk, and electronics they pioneered on the singles released by singer Danny Venzin's Lost Race imprint. Produced by HTRK's Nigel Lee-Yang, the album's clearer sonics and smoother blend of guitars, synths, and drum machines opens up the band's sound, paradoxically making it more dreamlike. The change is fitting for Depersonalisation's meditations on disconnection, emphasizing the woozy detachment of "Come Down" and "Winter's Gone," an epic that ultimately thaws the album's chilly demeanor. While Nite Fields flirt with pop from time to time on the album -- most vividly on "You I Never Knew," which recalls the Church's ghostly jangle without sounding too derivative -- much of Depersonalisation's allure comes from how well the band captures bottomless longing via open-ended songs. When Venzin stretches the word "desire" into several syllables on "Fill the Void," it still doesn't seem to encompass the fullness of his emptiness. Touches like these reflect just how much Nite Fields have grown since their early days, and how Depersonalisation transforms their potential into a beautifully bummed-out fever dream of a debut. ~ Heather Phares|