Premiere: Wash Away with Nightshifts’ Lovelorn “Next to Me”

Nightshifts © Jack Fowler
Nightshifts © Jack Fowler
A poignant plea for connection, Nightshifts’ “Next to Me” captures the intimacy of solitude in our darkest hour.

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There’s something about being alone in the dead of night that brings out our truest selves – the vulnerable, unprotected parts we tend to cover up during the day. But there’s beauty in reality, as can be felt in Nightshifts’ longing new single. A haunting, poignant plea for connection, “Next to Me” captures the intimacy of solitude in our darkest hour through a dazzling array of hazy sounds and dreamy melodies.

A fire sparked from inside of you
is burning its way through the back of the room
All that I can hope to do
is sit here and hope that I too get consumed
Listen: “Next To Me” – Nightshifts
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Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “Next To Me,” the fifth and final track off Nightshifts’ forthcoming self-titled EP. The recording project of Toronto-based songwriter Andrew Oliver, Nightshifts creates a mesmerizing world away through fuzzy synths and warm, inviting melodies. “Next to Me” marks a high point in the artist’s ability to invoke strong, provocative emotions, engulfing us in both sound and feeling as the artist contemplates an utter sadness surrounding our temporal existence, finality and transience.

Next to Me - Nightshifts
Next to Me – Nightshifts
Call you up, just in time
Right before we might
Wash away like some rocks in the sea
All the while I just wanted to feel you right,
Next to me

“‘Next to Me’ is a slow-burning love song I crafted over the course of a year,” Andrew Oliver shares. “It’s about not wanting something special to slip away. I was thinking about how every good situation comes attached with the bittersweet realization that it will eventually end. The better it is, the harder it will be. Pessimistic, I know! I’m a happy fellow in real life, I just love writing sad songs.”

Always simple and still
What do we get at the top of this hill?
You may change, but I never will,
Endlessly chasing some long forgot thrill
Nightshifts © Jack Fowler
Nightshifts © Jack Fowler

Some sad songs are worth the tears: Nightshifts connect us to real feelings, offering an escape from the everyday that bears palpable meaning and considerable weight. “Next to Me” is a love song – a sad song, but a love song nonetheless, and a beautiful cry for love in spite of the pain and sorrow that comes with it. Take a step out of the everyday to give Nightshifts a listen, exclusively on Atwood Magazine!

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Next to Me - Nightshifts

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? © Jack Fowler

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