Stream: Nick Waterhouse, ‘Place Names’

Kevin Bronson on January 14th, 2021

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Nick Waterhouse says his new single “Place Names” is “the song I have been writing my entire life.”

That’s saying a lot, since for almost a decade Waterhouse has found gold in reshaping the sounds of early rock ’n’ roll. “Place Names,” replete with strings, backing vocals and Wall of Sound production, has the reverence typical of Waterhouse’s forays into old soul, garage-rock and surf music, with some value-added elegance.

The song is the first single and lead track to Waterhouse’s fifth album, “Promenade Blue,” out April 9 via Innovative Leisure Records. The album, reecorded in Memphis and Los Angeles, was produced by Paul Butler (Michael Kiwanuka, Devendra Banhart).

Waterhouse establishes a strong sense of place with his opener. “I wanted to figure out a way to astrally project the listener into all the places and pathways — metropolitan or naturalistic — I could,” he says. “Look up at the light of a big sky against a hillside city dotted with lights, the sea rising before you, the street unfolding as you climb up from the subway stairs, all in some dreamy place filled with promise and wisdom it can deliver to you. Then remember everyone who ever brought beauty into your own life.”

||| Stream: “Place Names”