Nap Eyes continue channeling their searching and poetic perfection on Snapshot of a Beginner

Their last album, I’m Bad Now, was sheer perfection. The band have always (sonically at least) evoked the likes of Velvet Underground, Violent Femmes, Warren Zevon, The Modern Lovers and Silver Jews, but with I’m Bad Now, they transcended those influences and became something truly unique. It also put some distance between themselves and their peers – establishing once and for all that they’re more delicate, intellectual and spiritual than any band operating in their space.

They also have, in Nigel Chapman, a genuinely magnetic frontman (and songwriter), whose rich vocal timbre, thick Canadian accent, considered enunciation and poetic lyrics combine to offer the listener something distinctive, instantly recognisable, and completely comforting. His presence on Nap Eyes’ albums is at once both reassuring and overwhelming, such is the strength of his character. Put simply, Chapman is an artist with a striking vision, who – like Lou Reed, Tom Petty, Leonard Cohen et al before him – offers you an insight into a completely singular mind, but does it with such vigour and authenticity that you might forget that these are another person’s feelings rather than your own.

The rest of the band – drummer Seamus Dalton, bassist Josh Salter and guitarist Brad Loughead (Ryley Walker recently subbed in for Brad on tour) – aren’t to be overlooked either: the best Nap Eyes songs are the tracks where they all lock into some ethereal reverie, as though they’ve been playing together for centuries.

Opener “So Tired” has all of the things you love – or will come to love – about Nap Eyes. It has Chapman's golden croon, his cutting lyrics, Neil Young-ian acoustic/electric guitar interplay, hushed but firm drumming and a melodic bass line.

They follow this with “Primordial Soup”, which is a bit of a departure from their usual sound, as it evolves (sorry) from a light, chiming intro into an intense, kitchen-sink crescendo. “Even Though I Can’t Read Your Mind” brings us back to Chapman's regular dialogic storytelling mode, accompanied by the band’s standard sound: a pastoral, bucolic kind of rock music that’s as dry as a sand dune and just as beautiful.

The tempo kicks up for the hilarious, barnstorming rocker “Mark Zuckerberg”. It’s an obvious album highlight, and will no doubt illicit the same reaction that “Mixer” and “Every Time The Feeling” currently do. Classic Chapman poetry throughout, too: “Is Mark Zuckerberg a ghost? / Maybe, maybe / Where are his hands / And why don’t you ever see them in public?” and then “What does he do with all that sand? / He collects sand right? / I think I read that somewhere / Seems innocent enough”.

Elsewhere, there are moments of immense catharsis, and others of complete serenity. For the former, look to the “Paint It Black” evoking “Real Thoughts”, with its sinister guitar line and snaking rhythm; for the latter, look out for “When I Struck Out On My Own”.

There are outliers of course – Chapman uses a character from The Legend of Zelda to express the depths of his anger and depression on “Dark Link”. Dark Link, a ‘shadow doppelgänger’ of the central protagonist of the Zelda universe, is used as an emblem of frustration and dissatisfaction. The song has golden wah-wah guitars and gently strummed acoustics that emphasise the central cinematic (game-atic?) conceit.

Other highlights come in the form “If You Were In Prison”, which is a thunderous shoegazer cut that evokes Ride and Swervedriver at their most caustic, and “Though I Wish I Could”, which combines a barrelling Springsteen rhythm with a yearning Chapman vocal to great effect.

This record is perfect for the world’s current state of affairs. At a time where we’re all being urged to stay inside for the good of humanity, Chapman and co urge us to point our gaze inward for the good of ourselves, and contemplate our own state of wellbeing, and possibly take a few minutes out of our lives to have a wander down the ignored lanes and overgrown pathways in our minds. It’s an absolute pleasure to spend time with a Nap Eyes record, and the world needs them now more than ever.