Weekend Intermission is our regular feature where we look at an artist or band not from the Nordic countries, just to mix things up a bit.
Michael Nau, riding a wave of majestic folk-pop from his stunning 2023 record ‘Accompany’ returns with ‘Popfly’. In the interim he has released a plethora of low-key, some Bandcamp-only albums, EPs and singles of bits and pieces. Some instrumental only, some with lyrics, some more electronic, some more acoustic, some better than you might expect from what was gathered from the offcuts left on the floor in past years. In fact, a lot of it had no right to be that good. Nau is a busy fellow indeed.
‘Popfly’ does sound more like ‘Accompany’’s successor. Not to say a bad word about those extra releases, all showing sides of Nau that have been valuable additions to a strangely beguiling catalogue. The vibe here is folkier, more electronic, and jazzier than ‘Accompany’, an album it felt like he crooned all over in classic fashion. There’s a lot going on in Nau’s musical brain, the stylistic growth evident through much of his work.
‘Popfly’ kicks off with the brilliant ‘Lost Station Hideaway’. Its warmth spills out of the speakers/headphones, doing damage delicately like some of Nau’s best songs do. ‘Hi Beam’ continues where the opener leaves off, at its close singing repeatedly the word ‘happy’ until you have been convinced, fallen into that most tempting of traps.
The title track – and album lead single – follows, with a music video on the below link. It is hard to label it anything other than a classic Michael Nau track. “Something’s happened to my body…” will be going around your head, on the end of your tongue as you sing it, the ultimate lovable earworm, for days on end.
‘Both Ends’ and second single ‘New Slack’ further swamp us in Nau’s signature vibe, making moves around us, mellow and free, swinging the bat, connecting, watching the ball fly out of sight. Popfly sounds about right here.
The second half of the album doesn’t quite carry the same zing or range of tracks, but nevertheless it’s hard to escape the fact that Nau is a songwriter of great merit. ‘Even So’ is a brief highlight of the second half and sounds like it fell off big sibling, ‘Accompany’. As with many songs on the final stretch there are female vocals slotting in beside Nau as it quietly comes to a close with the most curiously delicate of endings.
His music feels like a refuge, a place of genuine warmth away from the frustration, violence, and ugliness of the world. His bubble is at times intoxicating, at other times simply ever-present, decent, reliable. You want to return to the songs again and again, they seep out of their shapes, into the consciousness, invite you to live inside that very bubble.
I don’t know how many people love Michael Nau’s music, but it isn’t enough. It is not nearly enough. Ultimately, Nau is a musician to adore, with songs to go with you wherever you go.
NMC rating: 8/10
Find him on:
Website: https://www.michaelnau.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mnau/
Bandcamp: https://michaelnau.bandcamp.com/
