Nap Eyes The Neon Gate
Nap Eyes's The Neon Gate arrives as a quietly adventurous record that channels poetry, domestic detail, and synth-tinged indie-rock into something both intimate and uncanny. Across professional reviews, critics single out “Demons”, “I See Phantoms of Hatred and of the Heart's Fullness and of the Coming Emptiness” and “Isolation” as the album's most compelling moments, where literary source material and Chapman’s conversational delivery meet arresting piano lines and electronic textures.
The critical consensus is generally favorable: The Neon Gate earned a 77.8/100 average across five professional reviews, with reviewers consistently praising the record's poetic adaptations, dreamlike imagery, and restraint. Critics note how longform improvisation and synth grooves give songs such as “Demons” and “Dark Mystery Enigma Bird” a sense of escalating dread or melancholic propulsion, while Yeats-set lyrics on “I See Phantoms of Hatred and of the Heart's Fullness and of the Coming Emptiness” illustrate the album's marriage of literature and pop craft. Reviewers repeatedly call the best songs on The Neon Gate those that balance memorable hooks with Chapman’s wry, observational voice.
That said, perspectives are not uniform. Some critics praise the record's fresh, unpolished energy and imaginative scope; others register occasional lapses into sketchy ideas or brief moments that feel like YouTube-bumper curiosities. Overall, the critical consensus frames The Neon Gate as a thoughtful, singular addition to Nap Eyes' catalogue—worth seeking out for its standout tracks and its patient, literate approach to songwriting, especially for listeners curious about the intersection of poetry and indie-rock.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Demons
5 mentions
"worked up the songs on The Neon Gate while isolated"— Dusted Magazine
Isolation
4 mentions
"worked up the songs on The Neon Gate while isolated"— Dusted Magazine
I See Phantoms of Hatred and of the Heart's Fullness and of the Coming Emptiness
5 mentions
""I See Phantoms of Hatred and of the Heart’s Fullness and of the Coming Emptiness" sets a poem by W.B. Yeats into a chilly glide"— The Line of Best Fit
worked up the songs on The Neon Gate while isolated
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Eight Tired Starlings
Dark Mystery Enigma Bird
Demons
Feline Wave Race
Tangent Dissolve
Ice Grass Underpass
Passageway
I See Phantoms of Hatred and of the Heart's Fullness and of the Coming Emptiness
Isolation
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 6 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
In his familiar, conversational register Dusted's reviewer frames Nap Eyes's The Neon Gate as an intimate, pandemic-shaped set where songs like “Demons” and “Isolation” wind their way through solitude and sly observation. The piece highlights Chapman’s isolated writing and the record’s quiet strengths, noting how certain tracks emerge as the best songs on The Neon Gate because they compress wry lyricism into memorable hooks. There is admiration for the album's restraint and character, and the review pinpoints those standout moments without grand gestures or false zeal.
Key Points
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The best song(s) stand out because they distill Chapman’s isolated songwriting into memorable, inward-facing moments.
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The album’s core strengths are its intimate, pandemic-shaped perspective and restrained, observational lyricism.
Themes
Critic's Take
In a voice that walks between bemused observation and affectionate teasing, Nap Eyes on The Neon Gate hides its most potent moments in plain sight. The review singles out “Demons” and “I See Phantoms of Hatred and of the Heart’s Fullness and of the Coming Emptiness” as the record’s richest conjurings, where bright piano and lush grooves make the supernatural feel conversational. Linnie Greene praises the instrumental flourishes and Chapman’s slack, Malkmus-like delivery, arguing these elements make the best tracks on The Neon Gate quietly thrilling rather than loudly showy. Even when songs like “Feline Wave Race” falter into YouTube-bumper territory, the album’s steady search for portals and wonder keeps it compelling.
Key Points
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“Demons” is best for marrying sunny instrumentation to discomfiting lyrics, producing a striking, unbothered delivery.
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The album’s core strength is finding the supernatural in the mundane through poetic adaptations and subtle instrumental flourishes.
Themes
Critic's Take
Nap Eyes trackwise the best songs on The Neon Gate are those that marry Chapman’s literary reach with memorable sound - chief among them is “Demons”, and close behind are “Dark Mystery Enigma Bird” and “I See Phantoms of Hatred and of the Heart’s Fullness and of the Coming Emptiness”. The reviewer's eye lingers on how the piano and drum machine-led “Demons” becomes the record’s highlight, its escalating dread and hypnotic trot given pride of place. Likewise the sad disco throb of “Dark Mystery Enigma Bird” is called an instant cult classic, while the Yeats-set “I See Phantoms of Hatred and of the Heart's Fullness and of the Coming Emptiness” shows the album’s chilly electronic pop nods. Overall the praise rests on Nap Eyes keeping listeners on side amid sprawling lyrics and frosty sonic shifts, making these songs the best tracks on The Neon Gate by virtue of emotional clarity and production.
Key Points
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The piano and drum machine-led "Demons" is the album highlight due to its escalating dread and hypnotic arrangement.
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The album’s strengths are Chapman’s literary lyrics paired with frosty synth textures and unhurried, revealing song structures.
Themes
KL
Critic's Take
Nap Eyes sound like a band still on the first go-round, which makes The Neon Gate feel fresh and eventful rather than settled. The review especially admires “Isolation” and “Demons” as the album's high points, the former a languid closing metaphysical journey and the latter a Pushkin-set poem given a sweet cascade of keys. The writer lauds Chapman’s sly blend of modernist weight and postmodern lightness across songs like “I See Phantoms of Hatred and of the Heart’s Fullness and of the Coming Emptiness” and “Feline Wave Race”, which make the best tracks on The Neon Gate feel both big and intimate. This is an album of restless curiosity, where surprising musical turns offset a cultivated slacker charm.
Key Points
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Isolation is best for its languid, metaphysical closing that captures lockdown-era reflection.
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The album’s core strengths are literary ambition, inventive guitar work, and a restless, exploratory spirit.
Themes
Critic's Take
In this erudite, slightly whimsical appraisal Darryl Sterdan finds the best tracks on The Neon Gate to be expansive narrative pieces like “I See Phantoms Of Hatred And Of The Heart’s Fullness And Of The Coming Emptiness” and “Demons”, which turn knotty verse into memorable melodies. Sterdan praises how Nap Eyes transmute century-old poems and improvisational impulses into languorous, deconstructed songs that still brim with funny, quirky, and touching detail. The review highlights the band’s synthesis of synth rhythms and domestic demo loops, making “Feline Wave Race” and the closing “Isolation” notable for their imaginative scope. Overall, the critic frames these as the standout tracks on The Neon Gate because they best realize Nigel Chapman’s fusion of narrative lyricism and pulsing instrumental syncretism.
Key Points
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The best song is the colossal penultimate “I See Phantoms Of Hatred And Of The Heart’s Fullness And Of The Coming Emptiness” because it successfully adapts dense poetry into a memorable, sprawling melody.
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The album’s core strengths are its literary ambitions, improvisational arrangements, and a surreal, witty lyrical imagination grounded in domestic songwriting practices.