New Music: Niamh Regan – Nice

Irish musician and singer-songwriter with a difference, Niamh Regan, gears up for the release of her Come As You Are album by treating us to the introspective electronica-infused sounds of Nice.

The track, which is the third to drop from the long player, showcases the Beth Gibbons/Ane Brun style torch singer intensity of Regan’s vocals to wonderful effect. The arrangement draws from folk, electronica and trip-hop, but feels so cohesive, so smooth in delivering a sense of inner turmoil, it sits outside genre boxes and conventions.

Reveals Regan about the lyrics, “Nice is song inspired by the idea the only person getting in your way is yourself (most of the time anyway). I really enjoyed how this song came to life in the studio with Tommy McLaughlin in Attica Studios. The bass line gave it so much life and it’s now one of my favourite songs to perform live now.”

Adds Regan, putting the song within the overall content of Come As You Are, “A lot of it is about being in your late twenties and kind of realising we’re all running out of time. I’d have bouts of massive self-belief in the studio, and then in the next breath I would be like, ‘This is the worst piece of music I could have even imagined.’”

“It was a rollercoaster. But through that I found self-acceptance; this is where I’m at and making peace with that. That’s what the album essentially is, just making peace with where I’m at and being realistic with myself.”

Niamh Regan has just finished a UK tour and plays Cork and Dublin this November. Don’t be surprised to see this singular artist pop up at festivals throughout the summer, though.

Come As You Are is set for release on the 31^st of May via Faction Records and is now up for pre-order in vinyl and CD options on Bandcamp. For album and gig news, plus other streaming options for Nice, check out Niamh Regan on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

Header photo by Katya Kaushan