{"id":24381,"date":"2014-02-26T11:21:06","date_gmt":"2014-02-26T11:21:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-nai-harvest-hold-open-my-head\/"},"modified":"2018-03-17T15:33:35","modified_gmt":"2018-03-17T15:33:35","slug":"album-review-nai-harvest-hold-open-my-head","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-nai-harvest-hold-open-my-head\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Nai Harvest – Hold Open My Head"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"image\"If you\u2019re reading this website, you most likely know who Nai Harvest<\/strong> are. I, like most fans of the UK DIY music scene, have followed them from the ground up. It\u2019s honestly hard to look at <\/span>Nai Harvest<\/strong>\u2019s story over the last few years without a huge grin washing over my face, and if I can get obscenely clich\u00e9 for a second, it feels like just yesterday I was first listening to their first 7\u201d <\/span>\u2018Feeling Better\u2019<\/em>, yet here I am about to talk about their latest record being released in the States through independent-giants Topshelf Records<\/b>, as well back home in the UK, where the band are sticking with their UK label Dog Knight Productions<\/b>, who previously released their debut full length ‘Whatever’<\/i>.<\/p>\n

With \u2018Hold Open My Head\u2019<\/em>, Nai Harvest<\/strong> showcase an ever-so-slightly evolved version of themselves to what we\u2019ve grown used to. The most notable change is that vocalist Ben Thompson has toned things down a whole lot, with the four tracks from this particular EP, more often than not, featuring a far more melancholic, quiet vocal style to what we have heard before. Long gone are the days of the strained, Algernon-esque screams of \u2018The Bikes & The Basement\u2019<\/em> and \u2018Floor\u2019<\/em> – and on that note, so are the token twinkly guitar parts for the most.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no time for easing listeners in to their new slower, fuzzier and mellow direction with opening track \u2018Rush\u2019<\/em> easily taking the \u2018catchiest hook of the record\u2019 award, as Thompson drones out \u201cEverything I love is dead, kill my heart, kill my head\u201d<\/em> for the first time at around the midway point. The titular track comes next and has a more uplifting feel to it, all the while maintaining the new slower sound \u2013 which is actually a theme I picked up on through the whole thing. Although the band have slowed themselves down, fuzzed up the guitars and toned down the vocals, all four songs feel more uplifting to listen to than any previous Nai Harvest<\/strong> song to date. Even the energy-filled titular opener to their debut album \u2018Whatever\u2019<\/em> has no match on the sense of exhilaration that this EP provides.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

As we enter the half of the EP that hasn\u2019t already been released for streaming, \u2018Pastels\u2019<\/em> and \u2018I Don\u2019t Even Know\u2019<\/em> offer up a slightly more familiar sound for fans who have heard the band\u2019s previous releases, though even then the difference in vocals helps bring you right up to speed with their new-found-direction \u2013 with the perhaps the exception of \u2019I Don\u2019t Even Know\u2019<\/em> which is the only song from the EP that could have musically and vocally fitted in somewhere on \u2018Whatever\u2019<\/em>, though, it is yet again a step above in terms of quality.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not easy to evolve, and it\u2019s certainly not easy to do it so well this early on in your musical career. \u2018Hold Open My Head\u2019<\/em> is a positive step in the right direction in every possible way, and here\u2019s hoping this EP acts as a teaser for a second full length some time soon. I know EPs don\u2019t get much of a mention when it comes to everyone\u2019s end of the year list, but I think people will find it hard come December to not reminisce about how they spent all summer listening to\u00a0\u2019Hold Open My Head\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n

5\/5<\/p>\n

\u2019Hold Open My Head\u2019<\/em> by Nai Harvest<\/strong> is released on 3rd March through Dog Knights Productions<\/strong> and Topshelf Records<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Nai Harvest<\/strong> links: Bandcamp<\/a>|Facebook<\/a>|Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n

Words by Joe Hart (@raisedbywoofs<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re reading this website, you most likely know who Nai Harvest are. I, like most fans of the UK DIY music scene, have followed them from the ground up. It\u2019s honestly hard to look at Nai Harvest\u2019s story over the last few years without a huge grin washing over my face, and if I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24382,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,8181],"tags":[5879,1833,10666,4086,976],"class_list":["post-24381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-album-reviews","category-post","tag-album-reviews","tag-dog-knights-productions","tag-hold-open-my-head","tag-nai-harvest","tag-topshelf-records"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAlbum Review: Nai Harvest - Hold Open My Head - Already Heard Staging<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you\u2019re reading this website, you most likely know who Nai Harvest are. 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