Neon CurrentRadio Listen
Cover of Amber Hours

Album · 2021

Amber Hours

by Nina Vale

Golden-hour grooves about restless feet, first nerves, and street-corner voices lifting a whole block.

Tracks

  1. 1. Bright Corridor, Good News ComingA long white hallway and a humming light, waiting on news. I opened with it because the waiting is the whole record.jazz soul, hopeful jazz3:41
  2. 2. Restless Feet, Sunday EveningSunday evening and I cannot sit still. The drummer found that pocket on the first take and we never touched it.driving soul, groove soul3:31
  3. 3. The Watch That Ran Slow, My LoveA broken watch is the best excuse to fall in love slowly. It's the loosest groove on the album.groove soul, rhodes soul4:26
  4. 4. Ring the Bell, Ring It LoudThe last day of school, and the sun pouring down the hallway. I wanted the choir to sound like a corridor full of kids.gospel soul, anthem soul2:51
  5. 5. Wrong Club, Wrong Night, Right SongBest dress, wrong club, right song. A cheeky one, and I let the sax get the last laugh.playful soul, club soul3:41
  6. 6. Strum Me Home, SunshineI really did find my guitar under winter dust. It's the sunniest thing on here, and the band knew it.sunny soul, folk soul2:38
  7. 7. Lift Your Voice on Division StreetA woman with a tambourine on Division Street, and I've been that woman. I let the whole band stand behind her.gospel soul, street soul3:23
  8. 8. First Job, Clean Apron, Big HeartA new apron and nerves ironed flat. I sang it for everyone's first Monday.anthem soul, uplifting soul3:14
  9. 9. Greens and Gospel at the Market GateMister Ellis and his collards at the market gate. It's a gospel groove you can eat.groove soul, gospel soul2:28
  10. 10. Both Hands on the Wheel, Mama's WatchingLearning to drive with Mama watching from the passenger seat. The horns are the nerves, and I'm the wheel.driving soul, horn soul3:29

Liner notes

Amber Hours is the record I made in the long light between afternoon and night, when everything on the street looks like old honey. After a quiet stretch off the road, I wanted movement, wheels and feet and tambourines. The band had been touring tight for years by then, and you can hear it: the horns finish each other's sentences and I get to lean back on them.

Nina Vale