Experimental and electronic, Nightly Gathering’s brand of indie rock is all about movement and infusing all kinds of sounds from ambient to spoken word into a truly genre defying blend. Bringing together everything from the most wildly outlandish experimental electronic to the much more easily palatable pop-punk, ‘Tethered Together’ is a lot of different things but singular it is not. Connor Johnson finds wonder in the unusual, with his unique production slant that seems to hit a hole host of different nails on the head. There are acoustic dominant pieces, synth dominant ones, and even ones that see vocal performances that steal the show.
A track like ‘Lake Shimmers’ perfectly echoes the feelings of absolute fantastical enthrallment and engagement with nature during darkness. And that sense of vivid imagery isn’t alone to this track alone. Pretty much every piece on the record relies on landscapes that the sonic melodies combine to evoke with absolute razor sharp precision across the board. On each piece of Tethered Together your imagination is provoked, almost demanding you as a listener to also start painting a canvass in front of you. Considering Johnson actually worked as a photographer initially, it’s no surprise that he has a fascination with imagery through song. As such, the resultant album is a love letter to not just life and everything that Connor loves, but particularly so with a special emphasis on nature and the darkness it exists in.
Inspired by everything from a Phoebe Bridgers and The 1975 to Bon Iver and Madeon, his influences are as wide ranging as his work. Impossible to tie down, it’s an effort in vain to actually find a way to effectively categorise his imagination. It’s all in the air, and he’s able to paint starry skies, late night forests, and much much more.