By Zoe Huettl

17 Nov, 2019

I caught up with John Pelant of Minneapolis duo Night Moves while he did his laundry, in anticipation of their show at Sleeping Village on November 17th (tickets available here). The voice of the psychedelic folk rock band unpacked the deviations and expansions of their third release, June’s Can You Really Find Me. After the conclusion of their Pennied Days tour in the spring of 2016, the band began the writing that would eventually become their third release. After a two year writing period, Pelant and Alfano recorded demos in the duo’s hometown of Minneapolis and then turned to a studio in Texas for the final product. Jim Eno, also of Spoon, produced the record and helped the band achieve the Philadelphia-soul-inspired strings of the newest release. Eno also continued the band’s project of playing with genre, fusing psychedelic and folk elements to create a modern, funky album. In many ways it feels like a deeper dive into the old-school inspirations of the band, with more room for modulation of diverse synths and strings. 

Pelant also discussed how Can You Really Find Me has translated to performance. He will be multitasking to render the full spectrum of genres in the album, from keys to acoustic and electric guitar. While that kind of transition may sound daunting, Pelant seemed energized by the dynamic nature of his role on stage. A keyboard, after all, is really necessary to allow for the nuancing of the more textured, string-focused sound of their latest album. The moderate, dynamic pace of the band translates very well to live performance for both new listeners and long time fans, especially because, with the addition of their own on-tour sound guy, their album is really well rendered in live performance. Songs from Pennied Days will mingle well with their newest release in an intimate set at Sleeping Village on the 17th.