LA’s SEE NIGHT releases new song “Just Another Life”, combining poppy indie-rock and ethereal shoegaze sounds
Los Angeles-based indie project See Night’s latest album, Just Another Life, immediately sets the scene with its opening chords. The title track, released today, kicks off with a catchy, spacey, almost new wave riff that transitions into a powerful bridge. Conceived during the isolation of the pandemic as a farewell to past lives and the dawn of a fresh start, the album is already garnering acclaim. Bob Boilen from NPR Music sums it up by saying, “I’m loving this record,” while Bob Nastanovich of Pavement describes it as, “The music sounds glorious.”
The album delves into themes of departure, loss, and the desire to move forward. It kicks off with “Being Good Is Supposed To Be Easy,” a raw, ominous opener driven by distorted guitars, a catchy bassline, and variations that allow Linda Sao’s ethereal vocals to touch on generational trauma and the loss of her father. “LA Traffic” transforms the mundane city hustle into a poetic early-morning drive in Los Angeles—an ode to Sao’s new home and the bitter-sweetness of fleeting connections. The title track revisits the energy of shedding old identities, with its powerful bridge creating a sense of time-traveling pulsations amidst lingering solitude.
Throughout the album, instrumental breaks serve as punctuation marks. Improvised in the studio as a tribute to Sao’s classical piano background, “Piano No. 1 (Morning)” and “Piano No. 2 (Night)” tie together the album’s narrative arc. Meanwhile, “NYC Coats” closes the set with a raw, acoustic bedroom recording that captures a quiet, inevitable goodbye.
Critics have responded favorably to the album. The AU Review notes, “There is so much to love about ‘Just Another Life.’ The vocals are warm and captivating, with a touch of darkness. Paired beautifully with an infectious, almost cosmic, new wave-like melody, before building into a grand, pulsating bridge that feels like an epic journey… [it’s] about leaving the past behind and moving forward… an enchanting piece of indie-pop rock.” James Rickman adds, “The arrangements are beautiful, and the piano pieces give the entire album a sense of progression. This EP sounds so…confident. The vocals, the songs, the production.”
Damon Orion comments, “So incredible. The album oozes with mood and emotion, blending deep thoughts and heartache into ‘Being Good Is Supposed To Be Easy’…this internally reflective, soul-searching feeling is set against a backdrop that shifts between walls of shoegazing noise, alt-rock power, and more delicate indie riffs, like a modern twist on the edgier side of the college rock sound from the past.”
Describing the personal journey depicted in the music, Linda Sao recounts, “Tres and Joe have become my go-to studio team of incredibly talented friends. They’ve both worked on the previous See Night releases. And just like with my bandmates, I have to feel emotionally safe with the people I work with because both recording in a studio and performing live onstage are incredibly vulnerable things. I want good people to infuse good energy into what I consider personal heart songs.”
With her poignant lyrics and enchanting melodies, Sao’s music resonates deeply with listeners. The personal themes of loss and renewal that run through Just Another Life speak to Sao’s Vietnamese-American heritage, drawing from her family’s experiences during the Vietnam War. Enriching the album’s emotional landscape is the memory of her father, whose recent passing infuses the record with a sense of loss and the promise of new beginnings. Joined by author Christian Vo on a music and book tour for his memoir My Vietnam, Your Vietnam, in 2024, Sao shared intimate stories that echo her own personal journey.
In her music, Sao finds a space to reconnect with her roots and explore her identity. Through See Night’s latest release, Just Another Life, Linda Sao invites listeners on a poignant, introspective musical journey filled with emotional depth and personal resonance.