Hot Babes and Tremendous Moustaches: Nightshifter’s Sex, Drugs & Neon Lights

Details: By Loron Hays; 18 September 2018

Nightshifter

In the immediate past, Hawaiians used the moon for navigation purposes. MacLane, wearing a loose fitting tropical shirt, only wants to use it to charm the pants off his date. Anything to take his mind off of Bianca. That girl is nothing but trouble.

And the darkly lit pools that are this girl’s eyes don’t remind him of her at all. Even her breath is different. They kiss again beneath the moonlight.

And then the silence is broken by a gunshot. MacLane sighs.

There is another shot. And then another.

Police sirens follow. It is time for the hunt.

“Have to go,” he tells her. She smiles and nods as he flashes her his police ID. This night wasn’t supposed go like this. But bad guys never check with the good guys before breaking the law.

And MacLane lives for the chase…

Eat your heart out, Thomas Magnum! Austria’s newest synthwave phenom is appropriately named Nightshifter. Inspired in large part by the awesome synth force that is POWERNERD, producer Robert Strassgietl’s nostalgic melodies on his debut, release, Sex, Drugs & Neon Lights, produce some seriously epic results. You will get a rush from these tunes.

"This release is the best score for an unreleased television show hailing from 1985. The music here is begging for Hawaiian shirts, feathered hair, hot babes, and tremendous moustaches and never more is that made clear than with this fierce song."

Our first introduction to Nighshifter started with a single song. “Sunset State”, which isn’t on the release, was a deliciously tasteful entry point into the vice-filled nostalgia that is at the center of Nightshifter’s storylines. It is easy to see fashionable cops with bad attitudes taking down criminals thanks to the sparkling synths and heavy bass lines the song offered up to the sunset.

But that was then.

Now, it is time for Nightshifter to tell the FULL story. And, in FIVE hot tracks, Nightshifter does EXACTLY that, filling our imaginations with a wild story involving a cop named McLane, a girl named Bianca, one violent sundown, and another glorious sunrise.

Nightshifter’s debut begins appropriately enough with “Rain on the Pavement”, a pulse-pounding ode to a city of wet concrete and neon lights. The nighttime mood is established quickly thanks a ravaging synthline that bursts through a Jan Hammer-like rhythm and frees itself upwards into the starry sky. The electronic sonics here build and build until the chorus becomes crowned Synth King and you can’t help but begin to move to its sultry beat. {googleads}

Hop in the Lamborghini Countach, dude! The palm tree and pink flamingo vibe of this release soldiers on with “McLane’s Anthem” and, damn, this song simply boils the water just off the coast of the Atlantic. Hot like FIRE indeed! The song is deceptively chill with a snaking tension that crawls toward the surface, making this track a steamy release of unexpected tightness. Listen and feel your own blood stir.

And that Jan Hammer vibe continues with “Bianca’s Theme”, a stunning track of mood and potency that features the one and only Powernerd on a soaring guitar solo. The tone. The palette. It is an expressive song that succeeds on scoring an unexpected emotional goal. Legwarmers and lycra? I think not.

A great space is also created in “Burning Palm Trees” as it seems Nighshifter is more than aware of the mood his songs create. With no commercial breaks, this is one hell of a stylized police procedural. You can practically smell the burning ozone. The sand. The surf. And not to mention all the sweat as our hero takes down yet another drug smuggler. And that grit is echoed here, spread by the electronic buzz and feisty funk on display with this song. It truly is reminiscent of Ian Freebairn-Smith's bass lines.

Rounding out the release is “Urban Heatwave”, a song that simply sizzles with electronic hums and explicit vibrancies. That introduction, with percussion heavy effects, is a killer. Think you know 1980s television themes? Listen here and think again. This release is the best score for an unreleased television show hailing from 1985. The music here is begging for Hawaiian shirts, feathered hair, hot babes, and tremendous moustaches and never more is that made clear than with this fierce song.

With no need for what comes fast and furious, Nightshifter tells his own unhurried story. Sex, Drugs & Neon Lights is written, performed, recorded, arranged, mixed & mastered by Nightshifter. It is now available for download on all platforms: Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, Deezer, and Soundcloud. Grab your copy NOW!