L.A. lounge tunes with a low-fi feel from arty girl Nite Jem in Good Evening.
Making good on the promise of her shimmering single “What Did He Say” (originally released on au courant Jersey dance label, Italians Do It Better), Nite Jewel’s transcendent debut LP, Good Evening, is the rarest of the rare—a lo-fi lounge gem sure to be lauded by jaded obscuristas and Hypercolor–loving scenesters alike. The brainchild of multidisciplinary Los Angeles artist and sometime Occidental philosophy student Ramona Gonzalez (joined on tour by partner in crime Emily Jane), Nite Jewel is a particularly apt performance moniker, because the songs glow like luminescent pearls from the deep, dark, velvety L.A. underground. Recorded entirely on eight-track cassette yet refreshingly devoid of throwback overkill, the sunny, slithering Moog-on-Mars funk of “Want You Back” recalls DIY freestyle, while the slow grind of “Chimera” sounds like a vintage track taped underwater. Night birds in 24-hour vegan cafes and storefront galleries rejoice—the soundtrack to your summer is here.
