Nashpaints is an artist I found deep in a Reddit hole. I’m not sure what the thread actually was, but somebody dropped a shadowy Bandcamp link, and I instantly heard a fuzzy ambient soundscape opener in “Molly.” What later unfolds is more of an experimental dreampop vibe that reminds me at times of old Tame Impala, Deerhunter, and Dirty Beaches. The songs, especially “The Giver,” feel like they are spliced together with live, recorded samples and pushed through a fine, yet dusty strainer. A fellow music reviewer, Gorilla vs Bear, calls the vibe “disembodied dream pop,” and I can’t think of a better descriptor than that.
Overall, Everyone Good is Called Molly is rather pleasing, featuring bright halcyon guitar arpeggios, light drums, and radio transistor vocals. Still, the only description on the album’s Bandcamp is the foreboding description: “Three people will die while listening to this album.. Zzz they will endup in the same place.”
“Boyfriend First” does offer a darker, noisy undertone with some heavy fuzzed-out bass, freaky synth slides, and other female vocals, with the only credit “Jenn.” After a bit of digging, I found that Nashpaints is the project of the Irish musician Finn Carraher McDonald, who sometimes collaborates with Maria Somerville and an apparent experimental rock supergroup that goes by Princ€ss. I’m unaware of the latter, but if it’s anything like the incorporeal vibe of Nashpaints, I’m sure it’s a wild time.
