EP Review: Nude Shoes – Suburban Ceremonies

There’s a breezy, uptempo vibe to the Suburban Ceremonies EP opener Couples Jenga that belies a lyrical verse/chorus dialogue that describes the gradual disintegration of a relationship. And that’s the tone-setter for these four tracks: an accomplished, upbeat power pop vehicle for achingly honest and vulnerable lyrics.

Nude Shoes is the latest project for New Jersey’s former Weird and Wonderful Word-er Andy Katz. Spending 2017 recuperating from the recurrence of serious illness and chronicling his recovery and the attendant strains on his mental health and relationships, Katz went on to team up with Pat Risi of Bear Away Studios to create Suburban Ceremonies – the first output for his new project.

It is a boldly confessional piece of work, reflecting the very real struggles Katz has had to deal with, but it is not a po-faced catalogue of bleak observations and recrimination. Quite the opposite. There is a musical optimism that makes this a fine listen. The execution is perfect, blending moments of understated power with delicate motifs and tempo changes. Katz is clearly a master of arrangement and his songs fizz and pop with a kind of exuberance that, oddly, complement his matter of fact lyrics.

You get the feeling that the writing and production of the Suburban Ceremonies EP has been cathartic and therapeutic for Katz, but this is far from a self-indulgent record. You don’t have to have Emo sensibilities to get onboard with this. His mini-essays on physical and mental health and their effect on relationships are refreshingly accessible and, more importantly very real in a way that the more flamboyantly Emo crowd cannot manage. The associated videos, if you can find them, underline the current of grim and determined humour only a survivor can legitimately share. But first and foremost, Suburban Ceremonies is four slices of superbly executed, sublime guitar pop that rocks its ass off. Check it out.

Suburban Ceremonies is out today and can purchased via Know Hope Records here