Nighttime – Looking Glass
Time is malleable in the hands of cosmic American folk band Nighttime.
On Nighttime’s record, Looking Glass, the band that began as a solo recording project has evolved to feature contributions of over twenty musicians, including Sam Evian, Roy Montgomery, and collaborators of Pearl and the Oysters, Marina Allen, Weyes Blood, Florist, and Aldous Harding—their work woven into a single silken web coalesced around shimmering harp, beatific trumpets, rolling guitar, and the guiding thread of Eva Louise Goodman’s rich, singular voice.
“The energy of the process becomes a part of the result.” Goodman says. “My first records were a lot about being alone and experimenting with sound. More and more, I find inspiration comes from bringing other people into the project… I want it to be fun.”
If Nighttime’s 2023 release hinted at a newfound openness, Looking Glass proclaims a complete surrender: “I paid the price of rolling the cosmic dice,” Goodman sings, “And I scored snake eyes—they’re staring into mine.” Looking Glass is an album about thresholds. It’s about opening your heart, taking a leap, and coming out on the other side.
When the album reaches its last song, the title track, time unspools and language folds in on itself. “Changeable is time / Let loose, it flies across the sky.” Flute spirals through warm vintage Rhodes piano while harmonies lift and guide a way through the liminal space between the words.
“Looking Glass was written leading up to and following everything in my life changing…” said Goodman. “I think I’m still trying to figure it out.”
Looking Glass features the singles “Looking Glass” and “Snake Eyes.”
Somewhere between the forest and the hidden frequencies of Los Angeles, Nighttime has found a new voice by opening a door. And then stepping through.
Living in Los Angeles, Nighttime is in good company with a long tradition of musicians seeking creative camaraderie. The story of the album, however, began while Goodman was still living in the woods in upstate New York, as her life underwent what she describes as an “alchemical transformation” as the relationship she was in through her twenties ended and she moved into a big farmhouse with two other artists.
“I spent a lot of time walking outside in the woods and swimming in the river behind the house. In the winter, we would sit in front of the fire, host creative gatherings, and have weekly band practices.” But when the snow thawed, she began dreaming of a change: A move to the West Coast.
Making a vow to let a new path reveal itself, Goodman was lured by California’s spirit sooner than she’d intended with an invitation to play a show in Los Angeles. With only three weeks notice, she made the move. A new band coalesced, more shows began to materialize, and soon she was touring and recording the songs that would end up on Looking Glass.
“From something comes nothing / But from nothing can come something.” The opening lines on the album set the tone for what comes next as Goodman travels across continents, painting landscapes of rivers, wheels, wings, and the open road of time. Initiation Rites, Wounded Healer, The Powers—more than song titles, these are invocations, calling in transformation and the wild unknown that comes with it.
July 15 ∞ London, ENG @ The George Tavern
July 18 ∞ Paris, FR @ La Pointe Lafayette
July 21 ∞ Augsburg, DE @ Kappeneck
July 24 ∞ Lübeck, DE @ Tonfink
July 26 ∞ Krakow, PL @ Liberty Cafe
July 30 ∞ Prague, CZ @ The Globe
August 5 ∞ Champlay, FR @ Le Colombier Vert
August 7 ∞ London, ENG @ Green Note
August 9 ∞ Oxford, ENG @ The Library
August 11 ∞ Brighton, ENG @ The Folklore Rooms
August 12 ∞ Carmarthen, WAL @ CWRW
August 13 ∞ Liverpool, ENG @ Quarry
August 14 ∞ Glasgow, SCO @ Glad Cafe
August 15 ∞ Alnwick, ENG @ The Tanners Arms
August 16 ∞ Eaglescliffe, ENG @ The Waiting Room
September 18 ∞ Los Angeles, CA ∞ Permanent Records Roadhouse
#nighttime666