Nurses create a sound that feels simultaneously ancient and futuristic, like a transmission from a radio station that only exists in a dream. Their music is anchored by Aaron Chapman's distinctive, nasal vocal delivery which warbles with a vulnerability that is both strange and deeply endearing. It is pop music stripped down to its skeletal essentials, then dressed in the finery of a traveling carnival.
What truly sets them apart is their use of texture. You will hear pianos that sound slightly out of tune, organs that wheeze like old accordions, and percussion that feels more like a heartbeat than a drum kit. There is a persistent sense of 'wobble' in their production, as if the tape is slightly slipping, which gives the songs a tactile, lived-in quality that digital pop often lacks.
Start with the album 'Apple's Acre' for a masterclass in freak-folk-adjacent pop, or dive into 'Dracula' if you want something with a bit more rhythmic drive and synth-heavy atmosphere. It is the perfect soundtrack for those moments when you want to feel slightly disconnected from reality in the best way possible.
Nurses is an American, Portland-based avant-pop group with vocals, guitar, and keyboard. Their sound is often categorized as psychedelic pop The duo joined Dead Oceans Records on May 21, 2009, and released two albums via Dead Oceans, with Apple's Acre being issued on August 4, 2009 (August 24 in the UK). They have been described as a shaggy younger sibling of Animal Collective singing with the sound of dreamy harmonies, carnival organs, slightly out-of-tune pianos and basic percussion from a lone snare or tambourine and received a 7.2 rating from Pitchfork. Dracula was released on September 20, 2011. Nurses toured with the Swedish folk musician The Tallest Man on Earth in 2010, and Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks in February 2012 A$AP Rocky and members of A$AP Mob freestyled over Nurses' track "You Lookin' Twice" for Pitchfork's Selector in December 2011. "Yours to Keep" was the closing track from Naughtland, their latest album, which was released in 2017.
Shares lo fi, analog warmth, reverb heavy (production style); art pop, indie pop (subgenres)
Shares art pop, indie pop, chamber pop (subgenres); lo fi, analog warmth, minimalist (production style)
Shares art pop, indie pop, chamber pop (subgenres); dreamy, playful, mysterious (moods)
Shares art pop, indie pop, chamber pop (subgenres); dreamy, playful, mysterious (moods)
Shares art pop, indie pop, chamber pop (subgenres); lo fi, analog warmth, reverb heavy (production style)
Shares art pop, indie pop (subgenres); dreamy, playful, mysterious (moods)
Shares art pop, indie pop, chamber pop (subgenres); playful, mysterious, wistful (moods)
Shares art pop, indie pop, chamber pop (subgenres); dreamy, playful, mysterious (moods)
Shares psychedelic pop, art pop, chamber pop, dreamy (signature)
Shares tape saturation, art pop, chamber pop, indie pop (production)
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