Album Review:
Nick Check & the Dead Century, Nevada Sun EP
Written by Ciara Campbell
Nick Check & the Dead Century is an independent folk and rock band from St. Paul, Minnesota. They’ve been cranking out acoustic rock jams since 2015, when they began their tireless work on their debut album, Nevada Sun EP. Composed of 5 soul-searching jams, ranging around 3-4 minutes each (which let me tell you is just not enough), this album definitely leaves you wanting more, and is only a taste of what is yet to come from this quintet.
The album opens with the toe-tapping track “Houston”, the perfect blend of rock and soul, including a guitar solo that will make you forget about the ones who have wronged you. “Waste Your Time” is a high-energy tune made for a Summer jam session. “Tulsa” is an outlaw ballad, offering a slower tempo that transports you to the desert, and “Nevada Sun” will have you swaying with your lighters up. My personal favorite, “Nevada Sun” will send a chill down your spine with its soulful guitar and deep-seated lyrics. The closing track, “Seagulls”, offers soulful lyrics and a tambourine to accompany the acoustic beat.
Nevada Sun EP is a journey of self-reflection- a road trip across the midwest as well as ones mind. As the album progresses, the tempos become slower, the lyrics more profound, similar to the way the hot Nevada sun transpires throughout the day into a mesh of oranges and reds exploding across the horizon. Nick Check & the Dead Century certainly made an explosion with this album, which was well worth the wait, and I expect no less from them in the future. If the Nevada Sun EP left you wanting more, you can catch Nick Check & the Dead Century on April 28 at the Hat Trick Lounge in St. Paul, MN, May 12 at the Terminal Bar in Minneapolis, and on June 24 at the St. James Coffee Concert Series in Rochester, MN.
