Rain fell last week when a box of blue vinyl singles arrived at the home of Martin McCreadie. Such instances of everyday synchronicity are strangely typical for his local trio the Nimbus, with its thundercloud moniker. “Often it ends up raining when we play shows,” he shrugs.
McCreadie on synth/guitar/vocals, Ritch Napierkowki on the same, and beat keeper Gabriel Barrientes follow up last year’s The Many Ways of Rainey Days EP with a 7-inch on Nebraska imprint Flippin Records. “Fever,” out on Friday, evidences the band’s influences: Massive Attack, Tricky, and late-Nineties Depeche Mode. There’s also a nod to vintage jazz-pop stylist Peggy Lee.
“‘Fever’ was the first song that Rich and I made up after starting this project in 2011,” explains McCreadie. “We were playing acoustic guitar and talking about influences, and Peggy Lee came up. She has a different song with the same name.
“We really liked the way in one particular section, she belted out ‘fever!’ We wanted something like that – a horn stab – so we just starting singing that word, fever, and there was only one way for us sing it. That became the chorus.
“The rest of the lyrics reference what it’s like to have something nagging on you and weighing you down. You start to feel like you’re sick. You get the fever, then you have to break the fever and move past whatever was troubling you.”
Local meteorologists predict just a 10% chance of rain on Thursday, but bring an umbrella just in case, since the Nimbus hosts a release show at the ND alongside touring acts Giant Claw and Darren Keen. Local electro-goth crooner Mr. Kitty headlines his last gig before jetting on a national tour with IAMX, the solo project of former Sneaker Pimps anchor Chris Corner.
“Fever” can be pre-ordered here.
This article appears in September 11 • 2015.