Joel Miller may best be known as the bassist for local shoegazers Twin Studies, but for the past couple of years he’s quietly been releasing minimalist bedroom pop under the moniker Night Beach. Miller started the project in college as a means of processing questions of identity and tackling issues raised by personal relationships and his sense of place in the world. But while that may sound particularly heavy and introspective, Miller is quick to point out more jovial reasons for wanting to create Night Beach.
“I also just wanted to make some fun songs that people could enjoy,” he says. “It generally makes me really happy to write music, and I really love fine-tuning and kind of obsessing over it, to be honest.”
Next month, Miller will release what promises to be his most accomplished Night Beach record to date, as he continues to explore what sounds suit him best stylistically. Entitled Bed, the six-song EP sees the songwriter straying from the sparse, lo-fi recordings that defined his former releases in pursuit of a more expansive and intricate aesthetic.
“I think it’s kind of funny because those first songs were definitely bedroom pop in a very clear way,” Miller explains. “Now, I’m still making music in my bedroom, and I still have the same gear as last time … but I’ve really tried to create some interesting, detailed sounds and push my production chops as far as they’ll go.”
Today, we’re excited to bring you the premiere of the EP’s first single “Daisies.” A lush, laid-back affair, the track utilizes soothing guitars and gently plodding drums to cradle Miller’s soft-spoken vocals. It’s dreamy in a sense, although tranquil might be a better way to describe it, at least initially. But then a captivating synth melody glides into the mix, lifting the track gently into the stratosphere. There’s nothing complex about the transition, but it manages to hold you in suspense, like watching moonlight ripple across a calm body of water. It’s a passage both magnetic and immersive, capturing the essence of what Miller is attempting to convey with the song.
“I was just trying to describe my experience of what it’s like to find comfort [or] refuge with someone else,” he says. “But the release as a whole is kind of supposed to loosely represent one of those times when you’re trying to go to sleep, but end up laying there for a while and just thinking about all sorts of stuff. You know what I’m talking about? Sometimes you just think about boring stuff, but sometimes you can get really deep into reliving certain memories and feelings, and because you’re kind of tired and sense-deprived in the dark those memories [or] feelings can become pretty intense—that’s my experience at least.”
Listen below.
Bed is out July 8.
More Info
Bandcamp: nightbeach.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @nightbeachmusic