Night Sands is the second full-length from Pittsburgh-based, Portland native Sara Renberg. Borrowing equally from the diary-like intimacy of bedroom pop acts like Frankie Cosmos or Free Cake For Every Creature, and the deadpan sardonic humour of the Silver Jews or the Mountain Goats, Renberg spins stories of advancing into adulthood proper, tales that are equal parts funny, wistful and tender. With the help of Cayla Davis on drums and Joshua James Amberson on bass, what could be heartfelt acoustic paeans become beguiling lo-fi pop songs, which often bring to mind fellow Portlanders Twelve Gardens, a style that suits Renberg’s understatedly vivid imagery and wry observations perfectly. Label Antiquated Future Records calls it “a record about the desire for and fear of intimacy; about being 32, gay, and single”.
First single ‘Roger Miller Baby’ is the perfect illustration of what Night Sands is all about. It opens with an awkward introduction to the baby of the title, capturing that feeling of seeing the people you grow up with start families of their own and having to feign interest in their own personal little miracles (“I met your baby, he looks like Roger Miller / you nearly named him after a notable killer”). Renberg’s experience as a poet is pretty plain to see. The writing is great, gently funny and surprisingly affecting, painting little snapshots of scenes that are pretty and amusing and (probably) all too familiar.
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The even stride of guitar and drums on ‘Ex Party’ lays the foundation a story set in the backyard of a loved one’s ex (“she was so cool, she was from Alaska and she played drums and had good tattoos”). From there the song runs away with the narrator’s thoughts—including a daydream triggered by fireworks, and some pretty introspective rumination on the transience of many relationships
“And I was so in love with you
and so aware that it could fall away at any minute
I knew if I was ever gonna write you a love song
I better do it quick”
“Here’s a thing that isn’t true but feels like it is,” Renberg sings at the beginning of ‘Elderly Lesbians’, “I’ve been alone since I was born.” It’s one of the many songs on the album that deal with being single into your 30s, of being uncertain about the future and worried about the uncertainty. But, as the title suggests, ‘Take the Summer Off’ is an attempt to escape that thought process, and the notion of a conventional path in life. “While couples compared seven shades of black, we walked our friends dogs and then gave them back,” Renberg sings, “it can be a good time to be, outside of time.” The song sounds composed and comforting, conjuring the image of golden evening light slanting through the trees, a reminder that it’s okay to take a little time out every now and then, especial if things seem particularly strange or scary.
‘The Only Gay Person’ is another self-evident title, a song about being the odd one out, told in Renberg’s usual humorous but genuine manner, before finale ‘I’ll Decide to Have a Problem’ caps off the album with a gentle rumination on self-sufficiency and being close to others.
“well I still got problems
they haven’t gone away
but you make me feel like I could be solved?
and it could be okay”
You can get Night Sands by now via Antiquated Future as a digital download or cassette tape, featuring lovely artwork from Liana Jegers.
