Naytronix
Dirty Glow
Plug Research Records
Naytronix is another incarnation for Nate Brenner, bassist with the Californian pop outfit tUnE-yArDs, and Dirty Glow is a fitting title for his debut in this second guise. A delicious, down and dirty funk-soul fusion with a sprinkling of jazz and a great bassline, it’s a perfect vehicle for Brenner to demonstrate his all-round musicality.
Playing various instruments from the conventional – drums, synths and piano – to found objects such as what sound like glass bottles on In the Summer, he’s clearly a man with many more strings to his bow – or bass – than you may imagine. He also provides vocals, although these seem secondary to the musical main event.
Brenner isn’t entirely a one-man band, though; expert support is on hand, most notably some bold-as-brass alto sax from Jacob Zimmerman on Baby Don’t Walk Away and Good Thing among others. Overall it’s catchy, chilled out and, some may even say, cerebral. There’s even a bit of a summery vibe, but don’t let that put you off; instead let it cast its glow over your winter.
Grace Henderson