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After nearly 18 months since their last studio release ‘0151’, The Night Café are back with their new EP ‘For Better Days’, blessing us with four new tracks ready for their 2022 UK tour.

Known for their mellow, guitar-led indie-pop tracks, the four piece have stuck to their roots with their new EP, showcasing the bands well established sound in the indie scene.  The Liverpool boy’s first teased about new music back in December 2020, posting behind the scenes studio pictures captioned ‘Ready for 2021’, followed by a mysterious set of video clips on Instagram titled ‘For Better Days’. The bands long-awaited return was warmly received, with one fan commenting “Man I’ve been ready since 2019”, paying reference to their first studio album ‘0151’ which released  that year.

As you may have already gathered by the title of the EP, the band’s latest work offers exactly that, a depiction for better days. Frontman and vocalist Sean Martin said “this last year has been a tough one so we were making rammers to cheer us up to be hopeful for the better days to come.” And that’s exactly what they’ve done following in the footsteps of previous hits ‘Endless Lovers’ and ‘You Change With The Seasons’, only this time we see the band delving deeper into their core emotions.

Released earlier this year, the lead single and opening track ‘Isn’t’ almost fools us into thinking the track is a happy narrative with its up-beat, jangly guitar sounds, but digging into the lyrics we get to understand the complex cycle of love, loss and heartbreak. The opening verse alone erodes the rose tinted glasses feel portrayed by the acoustic guitar intro, and paints a saddened version of love:

“Isn’t it funny / You said you would’ve grown / I thought you loved me / Who says I should’ve known.”

The songs relatability of a failed relationship and a refusal to let go will certainly resonate with many battling the same situation. When speaking to Dork earlier this month, Martin admitted “this song isn’t about me, but I know … even if you’ve never been through it, it’s easy to put yourself in those shoes”.

The EP’s second serving ‘Think It Over’ is the quartets newest single and was accompanied on release with a music video. It shows Sean going about his normal day to day life, but continually questioning if his life is heading in the right direction, if he is as good as others around him. He even answers his own interrogations “Am I searching for redemption? I am always” whilst repetitively challenging himself to think it over. It was the first track Sean wrote for the EP and explains “[I] really wanted to just have a happy song that was fun to play… it captures the emotions people experience”. 

Moving on from ‘Think It Over’ and its use of the acoustic guitar, ‘Up All Night’ puts guitarist Josh Higgins in his full versatility with its use of electric guitar and emo-esque riffs. Again, the song has a clear catchy message, showing the cathartic use of the bands lyricism; ‘’Love is not the only answer I get when I’m thinking about you’’ is just one example of The Night Café’s remarkable song-writing abilities. Closing the EP, ‘What’s It Feel Like?’ leaves us on a feel-good high with its typical indie-pop sonics and plenty of guitar solos for Higgins to get his teeth into. He matches this alongside Carl Dillon on the drums and O’Connell on bass making the perfect stage for Sean Martin’s vocals to come alive.

The wait since the band’s debut album ‘0151’ has certainly paid off with their lyrical excellence and promising narratives of an optimistic future. The Night Café are set to go on their UK tour in early 2022 which is an opportunity not to be missed!

*Originally published on Safe and Sound UK on 07/05/2021

Written by Nicole Horwood / Twitter: @Whorewoods