Nervus - The Evil One

Label: Get Better Records Released: 24th June 2022

Nervus’ fourth album is different. Refocused from identity-based songwriting to wider vistas, it’s the sound of a band taking a period of enforced reflection to redefine boundaries and rework expectation. And it works.

‘The Evil One’ echoes with a sense of creative freedom. ‘Rental Song’ plays catchy, XTC vibes with a vocal appearance from Into It. Over It.’s Evan Weiss, while ‘Drop Out’ will relate to anyone who has pulled away from the expected path. ‘I Wish I Was Dead’ even takes a Stewart Lee joke and turns it into a rejection of individualist goal chasing.

In pushing away from the preconceptions of what things should be, Nervus have found a path that, ironically, feels both less certain and more assured than ever before. Better than that, it works. ■ Dan Harrison