The Nightmares
Give Up the Hoax

Sparkling with crisp turn-of-the-nineties splendor, ‘Give Up the Hoax’ is spartan, precise, and clean like an early Deacon Blue number. The mix is perfect and the mood is poignant.

To put this record in context, you have to go back to previous releases ‘Dorothy’, which summons a cool doom pop like Just Mustard, and ‘Adore’, which is a new wave song driven by a strong bass-guitar line. I say this, because ‘Give Up the Hoax’ isn’t one of many for this band, it is distinctive in its 1991 vibe. Meanwhile, the flip-side ‘Falling Again’ is a glimmer of New Order both vocally and with the neat synth licking around the verse and flooding the chorus.

The Nightmares are building a collection of great songs that time-travel at times, but remain firmly rooted in the emergent early twenties. Go and give them a listen.

Watch The Nightmares – Give Up the Hoax

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Written by Smith on 4th November 2020

Stuart 'Saur' Smith was a prolific writer for The Mag throughout the magazine's lifetime. He combined a day job of temporary office jobs in London with a nightlife of trawling the capital's music venues looking for talent. As well as writing about music, he was a session musician who featured on a number of singles in the 90s. Today, Stuart is a Chief Writer for Phonotonal.