Anyone who has ever worked a night shift knows of the tranquil calm that exists at the center between two forceful ends, the first at dusk as the world begins to fade away into slumber, the other at dawn as fatigue sets in to contrast the awakening of everyone else. It’s during that downtime, awake and alert and very much alone under moonlight, that we often begin to mentally drift to life’s unchosen path, and that’s at the core of Nightshifts’ idyllic new electronic-pop composition “Beach,” out yesterday (August 12).
Nightshifts is the recording project of Toronto-based songwriter Andrew Oliver, also known for his work in indie-folk project Wild Rivers, a trio that also boasts Vanyaland fave Devan. “Beach” furthers Nightshifts’ departure from that outfit; a yearning, atmospheric tune that glides under a a gentle synth buzzsaw that catapults its lyrical sentiment into emotional overdrive, allowing the mind to wander along the shores of what could have been..
“I very often get caught up thinking about past situations, and looking towards future ones,” Oliver says. “I write a lot about this imbalance. And ironically, the times I feel most in the moment are when I’m working on music. I have a tendency to daydream, to second guess choices I’ve made in the past, and to think about what could have been. I wanted the chill verses to mimic a calm and steady reality, and the hyper choruses to be a technicolor imagining of this impossible, fantasized other life paths.”
The moods come together in a way not dissimilar to how our brain races from one feeling to the next, adding a perhaps unfair context to one thought trapped in the reality of another. Take a trip to Nightshifts’ “Beach” below, whether you are on the clock or off it.