Nice Guy are a five-man band from the northeast of England who have a tendency to release cracking tunes: the kinds of tunes which grab me and need sharing. 'Tonight' was one of my favourite releases during the first half of 2022, and 'Corona' is very likely to be a top pick for the second half of the year.
For a five-and-a-half-minute song, time passes very quickly with 'Corona', and you'll probably be hitting play again as soon as you've listened through it. As I've commented before, some songs need plenty of time to grow and develop, and it takes a wise person to allow that time. There's a natural space for every song and a good artist or band will find that space and not try to squeeze a song down, for the sake of radio/streaming-friendliness.
This is a track which is very well put together throughout, with lots of care poured into it. There's a mysterious, careful start, with pensive and slightly softened guitars playing panned to the right. What I think are keyboards appear on the left, sounding very much like a brass band. This brings an interesting and resonant mournfulness to the track.
The subject matter of 'Corona' is relatively downbeat: as lead singer Michael McCluskey explains, it's "a story about how times change but some people don’t change with them." But the skill of the song-writing brings this to life with huge impact. The lyrics are beautifully straightforward but written with a very adept pen; and the music is crafted in a way which really tells the story. There's an ebb and flow to it which supports and reflects the path of the song's narrator, "a man who hasn’t grown up and pines for the days where he drank in the park with his friends and the girl he liked, whilst the world has moved on."
"I can’t get you out of my head ... Corona”.
The song then takes a really interesting turn, becoming rhythmically more light-hearted (the guitars here sound to me a little like fellow north-easterners Little Comets). That feel is at odds with the lyrics of this verse, which talk of wistful reminiscence and reflection: "But now in these rooms, we wonder why / In light of our youth, we wonder why". That's a great juxtaposition, and another indicator of the careful work that has gone into this song-writing.
Now is it time for the song to let go? It sounds like it, as the drums and guitars build significantly, but it's a false peak - a lyric-less rehearsal for the chorus that still lies ahead. There's a sense of that approaching climax, before things suddenly drop away again for the second verse. Musical storytelling.
After another creatively penned verse, the song finally takes off after more than 3 minutes, at what is the first proper chorus: "I can't get you out of my head, Corona", Michael sings with passion. Here's fully committed to this moment, and the vocals really, really soar and almost strain with of all that pent-up emotion.
From here on, the song keeps dropping and peaking, releasing again. There's a feeling that the song doesn't want to go away - there's always a bit more to offer.
We press on, and Michael's vocals absolutely soar. He is giving it at least 100% here, holding absolutely nothing back. And then, the reward of a short but cracking guitar solo to play out, over chimey, euphoric keyboards. What a ride.
Nice Guy are Michael McCluskey (vocals and guitar), Josh Atkinson (guitar) Chris Pittam (bass), Matthew Bowen (drums) and Patrick Michael Oliver (keyboard). The song recorded and produced at Sugar House Studios. Check out the band's website and of course the usual social media channels.