Everyday/Everynight

Moon Phases

The debut album of Kansas City indie-rock quartet Everday/Everynight is a somber, sparse collection of nine songs that chronicle lost loves, failed relationships and unfocused ambition with the youthful perspective of someone experiencing it for the first time.

Moon Phases opens with “A Crying Shame,” an underwhelming, lumbering, piano-driven song that spends much of its time striving for atmosphere and mood. Those take shape in the song’s last few moments.

The second track, “Pluto,” fares better as the delivery begins to carry some emotion, but the song feels rushed. This may be less of an intentional decision and more a product of the hectic recording process, which bass player Ross Brown completed over a weekend in March. Because of that, some songs sound urgent at times.

“Negatives” is a rambunctious song with the kind of nervous energy and unfocused desire that comes with youth. The track goes a long way in explaining Moon Phases as a whole. The album aches of confessional, lovelorn lyrics, dissatisfaction and that urge to do something — anything. Age and the obligations of getting older eventually erode that sentiment.

Later in the album, a driven song called “New Skin” portrays the excitement of newfound freedom, the frightening aspects of what that means and homesickness. The track, loose and accessible, uses simple harmonies.

The album concludes with “I Love You. Goodbye,” which sounds how you would expect it to: diminutive, confessional and self-reflective. Meant to be the album’s emotional peak, it relies on a pair of synth keys as it asks questions of a love interest who intends to leave. The idea’s not the most original, but the band treats it as such.

The nine-song set is at times sloppy and underproduced, but it ends before the band wears out its welcome. Barely.

Behind the album’s shortcomings are some redeeming qualities. Moon Phases is an earnest, unjaded record, free of the bitterness that usually accompanies this kind of introspective music. There’s promise here.

---

infobox-hr-separator /> infobox-head>Find it
You can buy Moon Phases at everydayeverynight.big cartel.com.