Photo by Nate Manny

The Demon Rind, headed by writer and multi-instrumentalist Kwab Eugene Copeland, is a supergroup of many reaches. Their generous second record, Something Nice I Want to Tell You, is built mainly on succinctness — where the quality of extraction swims swiftest and strongest.

Euphoric opener “Got Me Believing” shuffles and scurries with Copeland’s prominent, albeit dissonant piano licks. Second track “Skeleton” darkens the doorway with it’s grounding “la-la-las,” bassist Carrie Robinson’s shadowy harmonies, and Johnny Sangster’s flood-inducing guitar howls. Guest Jesse Sykes’s lead vocals on the brief third track “Lonely This Evening” are transportive, but it’s the chant of the album’s namesake — “something nice I want to tell you” — that jolts and underpins this song into the album’s harbinger. 

Carrying the most memorable piano melody and bass groove, fourth tune “Everywhere Everyone” straddles a Counting Crows saddle that guest vocalist Lance Moore clutches the reins of with a sobering and destructive possession. The eloquently placed fifth track, “Summons,” bubbles like a sunken ship surfacing at sea. Spacious and warm amid floating icy flecks, “Summons” anchors The Demon Rind in water for the weary and those craving a baptism of renewal. 

Four of the final six songs on Something Nice I Want to Tell You are instrumentals. “Luck Has Some Kind of Face” is amped and thrusting, courtesy of Ryan Leyva’s screeching guitar work. The blistering locomotive spirit on the highly singable “Son in Law” is reminiscent of the best work from Aussie band Augie March, but it’s the following acoustic “Hubris” that gently pushes listeners into the ether: Voices lift, drums rumble, and water spills melancholy into a distant, parched parcel of Earth. Phil Wandscher’s ignitable solo on “Fury in Your Heart Part 3” is wildly ablaze, but the tune sits awkwardly at the end of the collection. “Hubris” works better as a send off, but I’m tickled that Copeland ends a record with so many malleable instrumentals without forfeiting his elemental and metaphorical themes.

At just under 30 minutes, Something Nice I Want to Tell You is an uplifting, seamless recording of choices, regrets, and dry laughs. Bedded in the sheets of these cryptic vignettes is a late night hum of redemptive possibilities. Copeland’s grasp is shared with a team of fine contributors, where a democratic essence of mood and memory are navigated out to sea.

Take a listen to the album below.

8.2

Cohesion

8.0/10

Instrumentation

8.5/10

Production

8.0/10