New Zealand artist Nik Brinkman has the languorous, snarling indifferent vocals of The Jesus and Mary Chain mixed with a dreamy, multicoloured haze that, in his new track ‘Candy’ that we are very honoured to premiere today on Backseat Mafia, creates an absolutely delicious piece of punky psychedelia. Hazy reverb and flange soaked instrumentation waltzes in a trippy fugue while Brinkman’s vocals echo in the distance with a kind of studied insolence filled with a satisfying attitude.
A mesmerising, swirling organ start, a wailing siren in the distance and jangling crunchy guitars combine together to create something quite celestial…bigger than Jesus, as the lyrics say. It really is the most enjoyable velvet dream pop sound with a touch of sandpaper and a swipe of acid. According to Brinkman,
‘Candy’ is a dreamy swirling pop song written about a deep love and admiration for someone in your life. The feeling of bliss, and of it being greater than anything else.
The dream pop sound and romantic expressions provide a brilliant counterpoint Brinkman’s vocals which evoke that late night/early morning weariness of a life burdened by the vicissitudes of existence on a mortal plane:
This is delicious. ‘Candy’ is released on 3 June 2021 through US label Declared Goods and can be streamed/downloaded here.
Brinkman has just completed his first solo album ‘Secret Stairs’ for release later this year. This single and album were written between Wellington and Stockholm with longtime friend and collaborator, Emanuel Lundgren (Loney Dear / I’m From Barcelona). During covid lockdown, Brinkman would send Lundgren voice memo sketches for the songs at the end of the day and Lundgren would send back notes or suggestions by the time Brinkman woke up.
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