We last wrote about Bloomington, Indiana band Nice Try (aka Madeline Robinson and Mahler Willits) back in 2016, when we described their self-titled album as “a collection of short and concise songs which have a fun and sweetly wistful vibe.”
Now, Nice Try are back with another album (another self-titled album, at that), and not too much as changed in the meantime aside from the addition of Jake Alexander on bass. Robinson is still making super sweet pop songs that don’t outstay their welcome, and the songs still form a winning blend of reflective and carefree attitudes.
The album opens with ‘Waves’, a song about coping through motion, avoiding difficult times by jumping on a bus and riding it ten hours south. It’s a great introduction for the uninitiated, elastic guitars wrapped in just enough fuzz as Robinson delivers her gently candid lyrics.
‘Soft Rock’ paints a little impressionistic scene, floating in a lake beneath the hot dry air of an approaching storm, small anxieties wriggling into even the nicest moments. “Inevitably the internal shout,” Robinson sings, “am I good enough for you or anyone else?”
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‘Angry’ is a minute-long blast of lo-fi pop that’s bursting with a need to share true feelings, looking for someone to be the deep and cool plunge pool at the bottom of a waterfall of fears and frustrations. ‘Smart’ is another bouncy indie rock song that feels like the sequel, although as is often the case, things seem to have moved on to something equally uncertain and confusing. “Shut my mouth for nearly a year,” Robinson sings, “when I told you how I felt, you said it was weird.”
Robinson yearns from an old friend on’ ‘Micah’, someone who has moved on to new jobs and houses and dogs, but who (clearly) still means a lot. It’s also a song about stasis, our narrator asking “what do I have to show for the last year? I’m older and wiser but I’m still just right here.”
‘No Good’ is reminiscent of the soft pop of Free Cake For Every Creature, as smooshy and sleepy as a bedtime phonecall to a loved one, while closer ‘Relax’ creates a sense of golden gladness from small meaningful moments. It’s the perfect finale to the album, ending on a kind and hopeful note that murmurs away the worries that have come before.
“I could walk you home
or wave to you across the road
and either way it goes I’ll be satisfied to know
our paths are in line
and I’m just happy to be somewhere
I don’t feel like I’m wasting most of my time”
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You can get Nice Try on LP or a name-your-price download from the Nice Try Bandcamp page.
