Single Review: Current Lies

The Nighthawk Experience is the intriguing new project from Scott McDonald-Bull (Anemoia, Scott MCB), which combines music and animation to create an immersive listening and viewing experience.

The first track, Current Lies, introduces us to a huge post-rock sound, for fans of bands like Jakob and even Shihad.

What I find fascinating about this song, is that it really only consists of two major sections and is completed by a brooding outro. The delicate opening provides the listener with a lush, acoustic guitar-driven soundscape which builds towards the sensational second section. I love the subtle textures, like the electric guitar feedback, that have gone into this intro, adding further depth to the sound.

The next section is heavy and wide, punctuated by gorgeous guitar tones and powerful, rich vocals which are integrated into the band. It takes repeated listens to grab the lyric story, which is hardly a problem because it sounds so good. The whole piece is completed by an ominous outro which hints at the next, perhaps darker chapter of the Nighthawk Experience story.

At around two minutes in length, this piece won’t demand too much of your time and is perfect for the Spotify algorithms.

The animated video adds another dimension to the project. It is unusual and captivating – I enjoyed the family of ducks in particular. The video changes tone with the music in the outro, which indicates the as yet unreleased next chapter of the story. I’m certainly looking forward to it.

Mysteriously packaged, expertly executed, tantalisingly short yet absolutely comprehensive, If this first offering from the Nighthawk Experience is what we can expect from the whole project, then the artist has this reviewer’s attention.