Working out of Albany, Neighborhood of Make Believe are an orchestral folk band led by Alex Muro. His previous work has been described as “neo-gypsy, delightfully shambolic, post-modern folk,” though the debut Neighborhood of Make Believe record Two Nighttimes sees a honing of this style. Adam Muro (bass), Louis Apicello (trumpet, accordian, vocals), Ryan Stewart (drums) and Richard Nolan (guitar) lend their talents to create a more focused form of folk, albeit one that retains the brass instruments, big aims and philosophical themes of Muro’s past recordings. As the bio describes:
[Two Nighttimes is] a dense and sonically diverse album reflecting on questions that often go overlooked. What is the difference between loneliness & solitude? Is being cynical wise or is being idealistic naive? Can you accept fate with humility? Does a dog have buddha nature? […] Frontman Alex Muro resorts to unlikely sources like the surrealist poetry of Vincente Alexandre or the no-stone-unturned history of Robert Caro to find ways to talk about personal questions. Attempting answers indirectly by painting pictures in words.
We have the honour of sharing a video for the single ‘Track Names’, which seems like the perfect introduction to the Neighborhood of Make Believe sensibility. The song poses nagging existential questions in a manner similar to Nap Eyes, though swaps out the ironic energy in favour of a slow-burn orchestral soundscape that feels closer to Okkervil River or Kevin Morby, perhaps with overtones of Beirut. The effect is a generous sound that tends toward a sense of revival, the track pushing toward some sense of joy, however obscure and unnamed.
“You were the one to ask in the morning after hours of sleeping
an incongruous task that grew from the dreams that you were dreaming
oh, I don’t mind a question, but I can’t help it if my answers are fleeting
dreams vanished so fast, I wonder if they have any meaning?”
The video is suitably expansive for such a sound, shot in glorious wide screen and filled with vibrant sky blue, the life of the footage literally seeping through into the track as the voices of it’s inhabitants lift over the music.
Two Nighttimes is out on the 16th November via Five Kill Records and you can pre-order it now.
Photo by Alex Muro, album artwork by Brendan Dalton