Nice Life
Gonna Leave That Bear Trap Be
AKYM? Tapes/Blade Records
The term “supergroup” doesn’t have a whole lot of positive connotations. They tend to be unfocused vanity projects, the artistic equivalent of a seat-filler at the Oscars, taking up space until the real attraction comes back. But with its exquisite new three-song EP, local supergroup Nice Life promises to be something more rewarding than that time Scott Weiland and Slash made an album together. With Perfect Hair’s Cory McWilliams on vocals and guitar, Tall Horse’s Dominic Grosso on bass and KGFREEZE’s Chris Gervais on drums, Nice Life offers an embarrassment of melodic indie-rock riches. More importantly, it all gels. “A place uptown / A beautiful city / Only sunsets surrounded by the sea,” McWilliams croons on “New Life.” The track blossoms as the trio locks in, shimmering guitar glancing off waves of bass, and at the midpoint we get a pair of tight, in-unison triplets. These transitional adornments make repeated listens more rewarding. The instrumental closer, “Feel Good Comedy,” is essentially two minutes of these transitions strung together, a smorgasbord of bright, syncopated riffage and thrilling stops and starts that’s an early contender for Song of the Summer.
— Joe Sweeney
Nice Life plays Mathew’s Old Port Festival Rooftop Show on June 9.
