The Days by Nathaniel Sutton is an album all about reminiscing, so it’s appropriate that it took its time being created and unfolding.
By Graeme Smith
The album features sixteen tracks that are unpacked over 50 minutes. By today’s standards, that’s a lot, but Sutton’s nostalgia trip is worth the time. Additionally, it took three years for Sutton to craft it. It’s our first encounter with the artist but hopefully won’t be our last.
The collection opens softly acoustic with The Passenger, a track that steadily grows in drama and stature. Philosophical lyrics reflect warmly on the bright moments of life that make it worth it. They are delivered with an understated charisma by Sutton as he takes us on an audible road trip.
Lyrics are Sutton’s strength, and poetic moments like Vintage Glow stand out, revelling in nostalgia and rendering its images vividly. Retro-modern electronica adds to the scene. Little Things ramps up the electronica through a driving bass groove. Overlaying it is a simple but effective toy piano melody cutting through a smouldering sultriness.
There are a few collaborations, the first of which is with Salty Auntie on Ain’t No Funeral. It’s an epic and cinematic highlight, delighting through its emotive lyrics and contrasting vocals. Elsewhere single 1995 sees Sutton team up with Ellie Heath for a groovy wonder, and Hurricane featuring Lily Monaghan is heartbreaking.
The themes of nostalgia and looking back, either with sadness or wistfulness, come through solidly while a gentle indietronica floats over everything. So Cool swaggers with an ’80s beat and indie pop vibes, which proves another highlight.
Yet, it all gets inverted on the album’s final track. Threshold flips the script both thematically and sonically, looking forward while delivering lively pop punk. It’s surprising, but the perfect way to end things strongly, creating a narrative arc from remembering what was, appreciating what is, to anticipating what’s next.
There’s a lot to relate to across The Days, and Sutton’s ability to bring his stories to life while wrapping them up in a familiar instrumental blanket means it’s sure to win him a lot of fans, myself included. You can hear the thought and careful craft that has gone into it.
If you want to keep up to date with all he’s doing, you can by following him on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
The Days is out now, and you can listen to it below.