I first saw Nurses play at PDX Pop Now! While they played a great set to a packed and enthusiastic
crowd, Rotture isn’t the best venue to see or hear a band. The acoustics in the Doug Fir, on the other hand, make it a great place to hear Nurses’ shambling indie rock. And they sounded great, especially the harmonies. The vocals were clear and sharp in all their quirky splendor. Nurses are just three guys, with Aaron Chapman on lead vocals and guitar, James Mitchell on drums, John Bowers on keyboards and electronics. The songs sound like the band pieced together catchy fragments – vocal warm-ups, rhythms, and tinkling piano – to create a casually psychedelic music that feels both imaginative and intimate.
The table of electronics set out in the middle of the stage explains why I couldn’t quite identify all the noises I heard on the album. Throughout the show, Bowers twiddled nobs, tinkled on keyboards and added the occasional vocal harmony. The biggest surprise was that the whistles on “Caterpillar Playground” were actually played on a keyboard. Like on the album, “Manatarms” lurched forward with the layered vocals and a percussive piano, while “Technicolor” shimmered over almost ambient taps and gurgles. Every song sounded playful and deceptively loose and off the cuff, while it was clear from the precision of their playing that the band was a tight and cohesive unit. Although the album is fantastic, I really enjoyed seeing the band pull together all desperate pieces into rich texture-filled songs.
Photo by Josh Lovseth
