New York’s Sam Himself delivers an uplifting hymn dedicated to the glow of city streets on his new single, “Nothing Like The Night.”
The Swiss-born musician found himself isolated in his hometown of Basel due to travel restrictions stemming from the pandemic while he was on tour in Western Europe.
Himself adapted to his surroundings and used the time to channel the ideas that would become his debut album Power Ballads set for release this October.
Himself’s baritone vocal provides a cool sensuality reminiscent of The National’s Matt Berninger combined with the soaring instrumentation of Future Islands.
“Nothing Like The Night” takes comfort in those brief moments of solace that melt over you as the sun descends over the city’s heights.
“My worst habits grew a lot stronger in the loneliness of the early pandemic. I felt pretty lost and uprooted, exiled without a witness to caution me against self-destructive behaviors that felt like coping mechanisms at the time,” said Himself in a press statement describing the effects the pandemic had on his writing. “‘Nothing Like the Night’ is about ways of escaping yourself and losing control when you suddenly have a perfect alibi for self-indulgence: the end of the world as you know it.”
Watch the track’s absurdist video directed by frequent collaborator, Stefan Tschumi.