Night Panther’s Farzad Houshiarnejad and Michael Cammarata first gained notoriety as part of the sadistic, carnival-esque sounding, trashcan-smashing Doylestown, PA psych-pop four-piece Drink Up Buttercup, who released their debut and only LP Born and Thrown on a Hook via Yep Roc Records. After parting ways with bassist Ben “Money” Mazzochetti, the remaining members Housiarnejad, Cammarata and lead vocalist/guitarist James Harvey reemerged as White Birds, a harmonious lo-fi 60’s pop throwback, and were also joined on stage by Drink Up Buttercup’s former manager Chris Radwanski, who had previously co-founded the band France On Fire. The new project seemed to be regaining some of the momentum that Drink Up Buttercup had created. Then, Night Panther’s infectious debut single, “Fever,” emerged from nowhere heating up the blogosphere. It soon became pretty silent in the White Birds camp until the track “I Had a Dream I Did Everything Right” was posted with an apologetic note from Harvey. By that time, Night Panther’s second track “Snudge” was being welcomed with more praise, and word of White Birds officially disbanding was made public the next month. On their self-titled debut full-length album (via Small Plates Records), Night Panther unleashes ferociously dance-friendly synth-based music that the group has quite precisely defined as “sex pop.”
In the opening of “Pleasure to Meet You,” the band, who also now includes Radwanski, casts a momentarily sacred/churchlike feel as the keys mimic an organ. However, after setting a brief ominous tone, the song’s synth emerges providing a transitional lightness that consequently meshes with percussion generating a subtle groove. “Fever” proceeds to bring with it an instantaneously addictive 70’s R&B style head-bobbing/booty-shaking vibe, letting bass and percussion lead the way while a brass feel and well-placed funky guitar licks tattoo themselves on your subconscious colored in by silky-cool falsetto.
“Snudge” shifts the point of emphasis to lyrics amid airy synths that, at times, suggest escape restriction and a yearning desire for independence – “Sneaking out at night, he meets a girl wearing red shoes/Creeping through the door, the wood is cracking and she caught you.” “Queen Bitch” (which isn’t a David Bowie cover) takes a simple piano lead and produces a genuine heartfelt plea – “You were always on my mind/now I’m waiting for our time.” As the piano and synth weave in out of each other, the sorrowful lyrics are elevated to a systematic variable pace in which they are approached and delivered. After the relative simplicity of “Queen Bitch,” “Lioness” cues a heavy, darker tone; synth comes to the forefront capturing a sinister edge that is part medieval and part futuristic. In “Fire,” Houseriarnejad expresses torn conflict – “Things are different when she’s gone and I know why… Now I told her just to lie, and I know why/I know there’s a fire under my nose, but when you’re near me, I let it burn me.” While the narrative unravels, the instrumental components grow in importance and volume before dropping out as a conclusion emerges. “It’s time for me to move on.”
Night Panther demonstrate the versatility of synth pop on their debut self-titled LP, producing songs that don’t merely provide an atmosphere worthy of dance, but rather the synths serve as a bridge or foundation allowing the band to touch on varying emotional/physical relationships. – Michael Colavita