Tomorrows: The Night Chorus 1 review – sonic adventures into the darkness

The immediate takeaway from Tomorrows’ sophomore release, The Night Chorus 1, is that the seven nocturnally-led arrangements (which get the ball rolling on a two-part project, with The Night Chorus 2 due later this year) reveal a marked progression in the depth of the Dublin quartet’s sound.

Previously, Tomorrows basked in the aural equivalent of a sunset – songs drenched by gleaming guitar lines complemented by breezy vocals. Their accomplished debut album, 2016’s Another Life, echoed tonal traits that gave Lonerism by Tame Impala and O Emperor’s Vitreous their respective sonic patinas. On The Night Chorus 1, a darker soundscape casts a shadow over excellently executed arrangements, reflecting various strands of anxiety detailed in the lyrics, borne from rural claustrophobia and technology-induced paranoia.

There are many moments to relish, from thundering drum samples offsetting Conor Deasy’s gorgeous, meandering vocals and swirling textures bolstered by a glorious saxophone injection on Nightshade, to the slumberous instrumental Morning Star Avenue, whose melody is punctuated with trembling guitar lines. Elsewhere, the O Emperor influence perpetuates throughout the buoyant Borrowed Time.

A rewarding record that signals more great things to come from Tomorrows.