Nightingale Floors finds the band imbibing in plentiful amounts of nuanced power pop, and that helps make Schwartz’s look-on-the-bright-side ruminations feel all the more convincing.
It may not be Rogue Wave's best record, since Out of the Shadows still holds that honor, but it is the record that is the best at showing all the sides of Rogue the songwriter and Rogue Wave the band, and for that it is well worth checking out.
While everything works on some level, not everything is as inspired as their finest moments, like their wonderful single "Eyes".
It is unlikely that Nightingale will catapult the band into any kind of whirlwind success ... but it does showcase a band that has stuck to its guns, honed its craft, and created something pleasing to show for it.
What Nightingale Floors tends to miss out on, though, is the sincerity and a sense of intimacy that Out of the Shadow had in spades.
Nightingale Floors is compact and centered enough to avoid drift; it just goes through enough unmemorable, mid-tempo patches to remind you why so many listeners and artists sought out more rhythmically exciting sounds at a time when post-Shins indie rock loomed large.
There’s nothing too big, surprising or out-to-sea strange about what’s contained here, but there’s no doubt the record still succeeds.
Though Nightingale Floors is a somewhat inconsistent effort, Rogue Wave nonetheless manage to convey an unabashed and unguarded sentimentality that warrants a listen.
There are no windows into Zach Rogue’s complex inner workings, no ability to engage his emotional geography.
I am not a fan of Rogue Wave.
This release was relaxing.
I would skip No Magnatone. This song didn't do anything for me.
Positives- very beautiful songs and atmosphere.
I would purchase this one, and excited to spin it again.