Sharing with the world not one, but two fantastic new tracks, Night Rivals have come out big with the release of “Cinematic” and “Pop Muzik”. Keep reading as we share our complete thoughts on the singles, as well as a much needed background on this project.

From the minds of Chris Harris and Jason Williams comes an incredibly eclectic duo that they’ve called Night Rivals. Together they’re creating a sonic blend that truly encapsulates so many different genres, touching on darkwave, synthwave, pop, goth, with plenty of 80’s influences glimmering through too. On two similar but instrumentally different songs, these two artists have beyond impressed us with “Cinematic” and “Pop Muzik”. If this is your introduction to their music, we’ve found it to be a great jumping off point to explore more.

Founded in 2021 in Wilmington, North Carolina, Night Rivals have been on an absolute tear, releasing a handful of singles and even their debut EP. Dropping in at the end of the year with these two singles was certainly a nice surprise, but what got us the most was their darker reimagining of M’s hit from 1979, “Pop Muzik”. Of course we’re going to recommend you listen to them both, but once you get to that one, it would certainly be in your best interest to check out the original first. “Pop Muzik” is a classic in its own right, but as far as covers go, Night Rivals have 100% made it their own instead of creating essentially a shot for shot remake. They impart their own influences and inspirations, but also get the opportunity to take it in a different direction that more aligns with the rest of their burgeoning discography.

“Cinematic” on the other hand immediately immerses the listener into this atmospheric world of pulsating synthesizers and attitude-rich vocals, creating a highly specific vibe and tone. On the production end, there’s plenty of mirroring to the latter track, but we’ve found it to have such an immense balance and literal decade spanning amount of sounds happening. On the background of it, the artists have said it “ponders the inner demons of infidelity”, giving even more complexity and challenging the listener to connect the dots within their lyricism.

All in all, you’ll find that these two songs are both a blast from the past and a peek into the modern. Go ahead and please check out the links below to listen, follow along, and of course to keep up with all news coming soon.

Listen to “Cinematic” & “Pop Muzik”

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Night Rivals go above & beyond with double single release, "Cinematic" and "Pop Muzik"