Tag: Unquiet Nights

UNQUIET NIGHTS – Single Review: “Diamond and the Missing Son”

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Reviews16 Comments

Unquiet Nights is an outstanding rock band I’ve been following for nearly six years, ever since frontman Luke Mathers reached out to me about their superb single “Promise of You”, which I loved at first listen.  Originally started in 2006 as a solo project by Mathers, a talented singer-songwriter and guitarist from Belfast, Northern Ireland, with help by Rodger Firmin on drums, he began recording songs for what would become the first Unquiet Nights album 21st Century Redemption Songs. In 2010, Luke relocated to Italy, where he eventually finished and released the album.

He was later joined by Italian musicians Francesco Piciucchi on bass and keyboards, and drummer Matteo Bussotti for live shows, though Rodger still played drums on their recordings. In 2015 they released their beautiful and compelling second album Postcards in Real Time. One of the tracks from that album, “George Best City”, which was never released as a single but was used in the Federico Buffa Racconta documentary series, landed them several live national appearances on Italian TV stations. Their best known and most successful song, it’s now garnered more than 486,000 streams on Spotify alone. Mathers eventually moved back to Belfast in 2016, where he continues to record and release music with Firmin and Piciucchi as Unquiet Nights.

I’ve written about them three times over the past six years, most recently two years ago this month when I reviewed their excellent single “In Spite of It All”. The song was released in conjunction with, and included on, their compilation album First Ten (2012-2022), a sort of ‘greatest hits so far’ work commemorating the 10-year anniversary of their debut album 21st Century Redemption Songs. Now they’re back with a great new single “Diamond and the Missing Son“, their first new music in two years. The lead single of their forthcoming album Seasons in Exile, to be released on January 19th, the song (and album) was produced by Mathers, and mixed and mastered by Neal Calderwood, who’s also mixed and mastered all previous Unquiet Nights releases.

The song’s a bona fide rock gem, with a strong Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers vibe, courtesy of Mathers’ vibrant soaring guitars. His masterful guitar work never ceases to amaze me, and he doesn’t disappoint here as he delivers spine-tingling riffs that smolder and wail throughout. Meanwhile, Firmin deftly sets the driving rhythm with his muscular drumbeats that propel, but never overpower, the song. And as always, Mather’s vocals are equal parts commanding and pleasing, with just a hint of a rasp to convey the right amount of passion. It’s a marvelous introduction to what promises to be another stellar album by Unquiet Nights.

The song lyrics tell a tale of two characters who find themselves entwined with each other, serving as a kind of first chapter to a much bigger story involving a character named ‘Diamond’, who I’m guessing is a woman, and a man referred to as ‘The Missing Son’. Mathers provides some background to the premise: “Sometimes I force myself to try and write songs that aren’t directly about myself, and to just approach the song like it would be a movie. The back story of these two characters isn’t fully expanded on in ‘Diamond And The Missing Son’ itself, because of the limitations of a three minute single, so I thought if we were going to release it that I would challenge myself to write the whole third album from the point of view of these two characters. This is what our new album ‘Seasons In Exile’ turned into, which was a useful experiment because I’ve ended up getting a lot of songs that definitely wouldn’t have existed without the continuity. The funny thing is that when someone thinks they’re writing fiction, they usually discover it’s the most honest they’ve ever written about themselves. This seems to have happened here.”

Tonight we roll the dice
If just to stop and pray for paradise to come through
Straight in to the dark
Straight into something looking for the spark that we knew

No thinking of tomorrow
We only got today

You are the only thing that keeps me hanging on
And on and on
There’s nothing else could ever come between us ’cause we are
The diamond and the missing son

Diamond, you should know
Nothing and no one makes me feel anything like you do
For all the things you show
There’s always something that leaves we wondering and blind and confused

No thinking of tomorrow
We only got today

You are the only thing that keeps me hanging on
And on and on
There’s nothing else could ever come between us ’cause we are
The diamond and the missing son

I generally prefer music videos that show the musicians or bands performing their song, so the video for ‘Diamond and the Missing Son” is right up my alley. Filmed in black and white, it shows Mathers and Firmin working their musical magic, while the in-house cat makes its rounds, seeming to express approval of the proceedings.


Connect with Unquiet Nights:  Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
Stream their music on Spotify / Apple Music/ Soundcloud 
Purchase on Bandcamp / Unquiet Nights Online Store

UNQUIET NIGHTS – Single Review: “In Spite of It All”

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Reviews14 Comments

Unquiet Nights is an outstanding rock band with a somewhat unusual career trajectory. Originally started in Belfast, Northern Ireland as a solo project by singer-songwriter and guitarist Luke Mathers in 2006, he began recording tracks with help by Rodger Firmin on drums for what would become the first Unquiet Nights album 21st Century Redemption Songs. In 2010, Luke relocated to Italy, where he eventually finished and released the album.

He was later joined by Italian musicians Francesco Piciucchi on bass and keyboards, and drummer Matteo Bussotti for live shows, though Rodger still played drums on their recordings. In 2015 they released their beautiful and compelling second album Postcards in Real Time. One of the tracks from that album, “George Best City”, which was never released as a single but was used in the Federico Buffa Racconta documentary series, landed them several live national appearances on Italian TV stations. Their best known and most successful song, it’s now garnered more than 355,000 streams on Spotify. Luke moved back to Belfast in 2016, where he continues to record and release music with Rodger and Francesco as Unquiet Nights.

Rodger and Luke working their magic

I first learned about them in early 2018 when Luke reached out to me about their superb single “Promise of You”, which I reviewed. They quickly followed with “Young Believers”, then a year later they released another stellar single “Four Winds“, which I also reviewed. I enjoyed that song so much it ended up ranking #76 on my Top 100 Songs of 2019 list.

Now Unquiet Nights are back with a new single “In Spite of It All“, which they’ve released in conjunction with their third album First Ten (2012-2022). A sort of ‘greatest hits so far’, the album commemorates the ten year anniversary of their debut album 21st Century Redemption Songs, in recognition of their impressive body of work over the past decade. The album features ten songs they feel are an important part of their musical journey up to this point, including two songs from 21st Century Redemption Songs, three from Postcards in Real Time, the three standalone singles listed above, and the new one written especially for this collection, “In Spite of It All”. As depicted in the art work for the album, all ten songs are gems, written and produced by Luke, and flawlessly mixed and mastered by Neal Calderwood. 

Though not quite as hard-hitting as their last three singles, “In Spite of It All” is a beautiful rock song nonetheless, with a somewhat gentler, more melodic sound. As always, Luke’s guitars are gorgeous as he lays down an intertwining mix of urgent riffs and chiming notes over a hypnotic driving rhythm, courtesy of Francesco’s beautiful humming bassline and Rodger’s propulsive drumbeats. Francesco’s sparkling synths are the added jewel in the crown, beautifully complementing Luke’s swirling guitar to create an enchanting and exciting backdrop for his clear, plaintive vocals.

The lyrics seem to address the fact that the journey of life can be difficult and full of obstacles, and to make it, you shouldn’t follow the crowd, but instead forge your own path forward, learning from your mistakes and staying true to yourself: “You don’t have to jump just ’cause they tell you to jump. You don’t have to dance just ’cause they call you up. You don’t learn to walk before you learn to crawl. But you keep moving forward still in spite of it all.”

And here’s the full album, available for purchase on Bandcamp at a very reasonable price. I just bought mine!

Connect with Unquiet Nights:  Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
Stream their music on  Spotify / Apple Music/ Soundcloud 
Purchase on Bandcamp / Unquiet Nights Online Store

Top 30 Songs for October 20-26, 2019

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30'sLeave a comment

1. SOCIAL CUES – Cage the Elephant (1)
2. THE HYPE – twenty one pilots (3)
3. GO – The Black Keys (2)
4. GOOD THINGS FALL APART – ILLENIUM with Jon Bellion (5)
5. SOMEONE YOU LOVED – Lewis Capaldi (10)
6. UNDER THE COLD LIGHT OF THE MOON – Crystal Cities (4)
7. RAGGED TOWN – Second Player Score (8)
8. HEAT OF THE SUMMER – Young the Giant (9)
9. CIRCLES – Post Malone (20)
10. DISSOLVE – Absofacto (15)
11. THE MIDDLE – Agency Panic (13)
12. SECRETS – The Million Reasons (14)
13. UNDER THESE SCARS – Falling Into Red featuring Dev (16)
14. FIGHTER – Joseph (18)
15. UNDERGROUND – MISSIO (19)
16. 3 NIGHTS – Dominic Fike (6)
17. CRINGE – Matt Maeson (7)
18. WANNACRY – Darksoft (17)
19. DOIN’ TIME – Lana Del Rey (11)
20. GOODBYES – Post Malone featuring Young Thug (12)
21. DESERVING OF LOVE – Lyia Meta (22)
22. DRIFTING AWAY – Stereohaze (23)
23. 16 – Highly Suspect (28)
24. OBSESSION – Joywave (29)
25. FOUR WINDS – Unquiet Nights (21)
26. WHITE LIES & PALM TREES – The Lovepools (30)
27. YOU? – Two Feet (N)
28. STAY HIGH – Brittany Howard (N)
29. NO BULLETS SPENT – Spoon (N)
30. LONELY – Secret American (N)

Top 30 Songs for October 13-19, 2019

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's4 Comments

1. SOCIAL CUES – Cage the Elephant (2)
2. GO – The Black Keys (1)
3. THE HYPE – twenty one pilots (5)
4. UNDER THE COLD LIGHT OF THE MOON – Crystal Cities (3)
5. GOOD THINGS FALL APART – ILLENIUM with Jon Bellion (7)
6. 3 NIGHTS – Dominic Fike (4)
7. CRINGE – Matt Maeson (6)
8. RAGGED TOWN – Second Player Score (9)
9. HEAT OF THE SUMMER – Young the Giant (10)
10. SOMEONE YOU LOVED – Lewis Capaldi (11)
11. DOIN’ TIME – Lana Del Rey (8)
12. GOODBYES – Post Malone featuring Young Thug (12)
13. THE MIDDLE – Agency Panic (16)
14. SECRETS – The Million Reasons (17)
15. DISSOLVE – Absofacto (18)
16. UNDER THESE SCARS – Falling Into Red featuring Dev (19)
17. WANNACRY – Darksoft (20)
18. FIGHTER – Joseph (25)
19. UNDERGROUND – MISSIO (26)
20. CIRCLES – Post Malone (N)
21. FOUR WINDS – Unquiet Nights (13)
22. DESERVING OF LOVE – Lyia Meta (24)
23. DRIFTING AWAY – Stereohaze (27)
24. COMING UP FOR AIR – Mars Motel (14) 19th week on list
25. RUBBING SHOULDERS WITH THE DEVIL – Revolvers (15) 18th week on list
26. THIS LIFE – Vampire Weekend (21)
27. WHEN AM I GONNA LOSE YOU – Local Natives (23)
28. 16 – Highly Suspect (29)
29. OBSESSION – Joywave (30)
30. WHITE LIES & PALM TREES – The Lovepools (N)

Top 30 Songs for October 6-12, 2019

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's4 Comments

1. GO – The Black Keys (3)
2. SOCIAL CUES – Cage the Elephant (4)
3. UNDER THE COLD LIGHT OF THE MOON – Crystal Cities (1)
4. 3 NIGHTS – Dominic Fike (2)
5. THE HYPE – twenty one pilots (5)
6. CRINGE – Matt Maeson (6)
7. GOOD THINGS FALL APART – ILLENIUM with Jon Bellion (13)
8. DOIN’ TIME – Lana Del Rey (9)
9. RAGGED TOWN – Second Player Score (11)
10. HEAT OF THE SUMMER – Young the Giant (12)
11. SOMEONE YOU LOVED – Lewis Capaldi (23)
12. GOODBYES – Post Malone featuring Young Thug (14)
13. FOUR WINDS – Unquiet Nights (10)
14. COMING UP FOR AIR – Mars Motel (7)
15. RUBBING SHOULDERS WITH THE DEVIL – Revolvers (8)
16. THE MIDDLE – Agency Panic (17)
17. SECRETS – The Million Reasons (18)
18. DISSOLVE – Absofacto (19)
19. UNDER THESE SCARS – Falling Into Red featuring Dev (20)
20. WANNACRY – Darksoft (21)
21. THIS LIFE – Vampire Weekend (15)
22. FALLING WITH STYLE – Heist At Five (16)
23. WHEN AM I GONNA LOSE YOU – Local Natives (22)
24. DESERVING OF LOVE – Lyia Meta (25)
25. FIGHTER – Joseph (26)
26. UNDERGROUND – MISSIO (27)
27. DRIFTING AWAY – Stereohaze (28)
28. WHY DID YOU RUN? – Judah & the Lion (24)
29. 16 – Highly Suspect (N)
30. OBSESSION – Joywave (N)

Top 30 Songs for September 29-October 5, 2019

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30'sLeave a comment

1. UNDER THE COLD LIGHT OF THE MOON – Crystal Cities (1)
2. 3 NIGHTS – Dominic Fike (4)
3. GO – The Black Keys (5)
4. SOCIAL CUES – Cage the Elephant (6)
5. THE HYPE – twenty one pilots (8)
6. CRINGE – Matt Maeson (7)
7. COMING UP FOR AIR – Mars Motel (2)
8. RUBBING SHOULDERS WITH THE DEVIL – Revolvers (3)
9. DOIN’ TIME – Lana Del Rey (10)
10. FOUR WINDS – Unquiet Nights (11)
11. RAGGED TOWN – Secret Player Score (12)
12. HEAT OF THE SUMMER – Young the Giant (14)
13. GOOD THINGS FALL APART – ILLENIUM with Jon Bellion (15)
14. GOODBYES – Post Malone featuring Young Thug (16)
15. THIS LIFE – Vampire Weekend (13)
16. FALLING WITH STYLE – Heist At Five (9)
17. THE MIDDLE – Agency Panic (18)
18. SECRETS – The Million Reasons (19)
19. DISSOLVE – Absofacto (21)
20. UNDER THESE SCARS – Falling Into Red featuring Dev (23)
21. WANNACRY – Darksoft (22)
22. WHEN AM I GONNA LOSE YOU – Local Natives (17)
23. SOMEONE YOU LOVED – Lewis Capaldi (27)
24. WHY DID YOU RUN? – Judah & the Lion (20)
25. DESERVING OF LOVE – Lyia Meta (26)
26. FIGHTER – Joseph (28)
27. UNDERGROUND – MISSIO (29)
28. DRIFTING AWAY – Stereohaze (30)
29. ALLIGATOR – Of Monsters and Men (25) 19th week on list
30. BAD GUY – Billie Eilish (24) 19th week on list

Top 30 Songs for September 22-28, 2019

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30'sLeave a comment

1. UNDER THE COLD LIGHT OF THE MOON – Crystal Cities (5)
2. COMING UP FOR AIR – Mars Motel (1)
3. RUBBING SHOULDERS WITH THE DEVIL – Revolvers (2)
4. 3 NIGHTS – Dominic Fike (6)
5. GO – The Black Keys (7)
6. SOCIAL CUES – Cage the Elephant (9)
7. CRINGE – Matt Maeson (8)
8. THE HYPE – twenty one pilots (11)
9. FALLING WITH STYLE – Heist At Five (3)
10. DOIN’ TIME – Lana Del Rey (4)
11. FOUR WINDS – Unquiet Nights (12)
12. RAGGED TOWN – Second Player Score (13)
13. THIS LIFE – Vampire Weekend (14)
14. HEAT OF THE SUMMER – Young the Giant (15)
15. GOOD THINGS FALL APART – ILLENIUM with Jon Bellion (16)
16. GOODBYES – Post Malone featuring Young Thug (17)
17. WHEN AM I GONNA LOSE YOU – Local Natives (10)
18. THE MIDDLE – Agency Panic (20)
19. SECRETS – The Million Reasons (21)
20. WHY DID YOU RUN? – Judah & the Lion (22)
21. DISSOLVE – Absofacto (23)
22. WANNACRY – Darksoft (25)
23. UNDER THESE SCARS – Falling Into Red featuring Dev (26)
24. BAD GUY – Billie Eilish (18)
25. ALLIGATOR – Of Monsters and Men (19)
26. DESERVING OF LOVE – Lyia Meta (29)
27. SOMEONE YOU LOVED – Lewis Capaldi (N)
28. FIGHTER – Joseph (N)
29. UNDERGROUND – MISSIO (N)
30. DRIFTING AWAY – Stereohaze (N)

Top 30 Songs for September 15-21, 2019

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30'sLeave a comment

1. COMING UP FOR AIR – Mars Motel (2)
2. RUBBING SHOULDERS WITH THE DEVIL – Revolvers (3)
3. FALLING WITH STYLE – Heist At Five (1)
4. DOIN’ TIME – Lana Del Rey (4)
5. UNDER THE COLD LIGHT OF THE MOON – Crystal Cities (6)
6. 3 NIGHTS – Dominic Fike (7)
7. GO – The Black Keys (8)
8. CRINGE – Matt Maeson (9)
9. SOCIAL CUES – Cage the Elephant (10)
10. WHEN AM I GONNA LOSE YOU – Local Natives (5)
11. THE HYPE – twenty one pilots (11)
12. FOUR WINDS – Unquiet Nights (12)
13. RAGGED TOWN – Second Player Score (13)
14. THIS LIFE – Vampire Weekend (14)
15. HEAT OF THE SUMMER – Young the Giant (17)
16. GOOD THINGS FALL APART – ILLENIUM with Jon Bellion (18)
17. GOODBYES – Post Malone featuring Young Thug (19)
18. BAD GUY – Billie Eilish (15)
19. ALLIGATOR – Of Monsters and Men (16)
20. THE MIDDLE – Agency Panic (21)
21. SECRETS – The Million Reasons (22)
22. WHY DID YOU RUN? – Judah & the Lion (23)
23. DISSOLVE – Absofacto (25)
24. COMPLAINER – Cold War Kids (26)
25. WANNACRY – Darksoft (27)
26. UNDER THESE SCARS – Falling Into Red featuring Dev (28)
27. BROTHERS – Harroland (20)
28. LOVER – Taylor Swift (29)
29. DESERVING OF LOVE – Lyia Meta (30)
30. I SEE YOU – MISSIO (24)

Top 30 Songs for September 8-14, 2019

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's2 Comments

1. FALLING WITH STYLE – Heist At Five (2)
2. COMING UP FOR AIR – Mars Motel (3)
3. RUBBING SHOULDERS WITH THE DEVIL – Revolvers (4)
4. DOIN’ TIME – Lana Del Rey (1)
5. WHEN AM I GONNA LOSE YOU – Local Natives (5)
6. UNDER THE COLD LIGHT OF THE MOON – Crystal Cities (6)
7. 3 NIGHTS – Dominic Fike (7)
8. GO – The Black Keys (8)
9. CRINGE – Matt Maeson (9)
10. SOCIAL CUES – Cage the Elephant (10)
11. THE HYPE – twenty one pilots (13)
12. FOUR WINDS – Unquiet Nights (14)
13. RAGGED TOWN – Second Player Score (15)
14. THIS LIFE – Vampire Weekend (16)
15. BAD GUY – Billie Eilish (11)
16. ALLIGATOR – Of Monsters and Men (12)
17. HEAT OF THE SUMMER – Young the Giant (18)
18. GOOD THINGS FALL APART – ILLENIUM with Jon Bellion (20)
19. GOODBYES – Post Malone featuring Young Thug (21)
20. BROTHERS – Harroland (19)
21. THE MIDDLE – Agency Panic (23)
22. SECRETS – The Million Reasons (24)
23. WHY DID YOU RUN? – Judah & the Lion (25)
24. I SEE YOU – MISSIO (17)
25. DISSOLVE – Absofacto (28)
26. COMPLAINER – Cold War Kids (29)
27. WANNACRY – Darksoft (30)
28. UNDER THESE SCARS – Falling Into Red featuring Dev (N)
29. LOVER – Taylor Swift (N)
30. DESERVING OF LOVE – Lyia Meta (N)

Top 30 Songs for September 1-7, 2019

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30'sLeave a comment

1. DOIN’ TIME – Lana Del Rey (1)
2. FALLING WITH STYLE – Heist At Five (2)
3. COMING UP FOR AIR – Mars Motel (3)
4. RUBBING SHOULDERS WITH THE DEVIL – Revolvers (4)
5. WHEN AM I GONNA LOSE YOU – Local Natives (5)
6. UNDER THE COLD LIGHT OF THE MOON – Crystal Cities (7)
7. 3 NIGHTS – Dominic Fike (9)
8. GO – The Black Keys (10)
9. CRINGE – Matt Maeson (11)
10. SOCIAL CUES – Cage the Elephant (12)
11. BAD GUY – Billie Eilish (6)
12. ALLIGATOR – Of Monsters and Men (8)
13. THE HYPE – twenty one pilots (14)
14. FOUR WINDS – Unquiet Nights (15)
15. RAGGED TOWN – Second Player Score (16)
16. THIS LIFE – Vampire Weekend (17)
17. I SEE YOU – MISSIO (13)
18. HEAT OF THE SUMMER – Young the Giant (21)
19. BROTHERS – Harroland (20)
20. GOOD THINGS FALL APART – ILLENIUM with Jon Bellion (24)
21. GOODBYES – Post Malone featuring Young Thug (25)
22. HERE WE GO – Ben Priory and Charlie Pereira (18)
23. THE MIDDLE – Agency Panic (26)
24. SECRETS – The Million Reasons (27)
25. WHY DID YOU RUN? – Judah & the Lion (30)
26. MISSED CONNECTION – The Head and the Heart (22)
27. ROOM TO BREATHE – Made of Eyes (23)
28. DISSOLVE – Absofacto (N)
29. COMPLAINER – Cold War Kids (N)
30. WANNACRY – Darksoft (N)