Nerves release second single 'Takes A Second' from upcoming EP
- Richard Blowes
- 9 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Increasingly ambitious and noisy punks Nerves release new single Takes a Second and announce their second EP Iarmhaireacht
Track: Takes a Second
Band: Nerves
Released: June 18 2025
At the recent WXSW Blowtorch Records showcase, when the three guitarists from Nerves unveiled their respective pedal boards we thought we might need a bigger stage. Observant gig goers may have noticed this trend of the ever increasing array of effects. Thankfully in the case of these Irish West Coast noise punks, they are deployed to devastating effect as part of a sound arsenal which at times sounds nothing like a traditional guitar. In other words not for noodling.
The opening staccato salvos of the new single could well be electronically produced however it wouldn’t surprise me to find that there was some John McGeoch style wizardry going on with all manner of flanges, delays and infinite reverbs to produce said sounds.
It pushes the very structure of what constitutes a song as they embrace elements of noise, atonalism, electronica and the raw emotion which is rarely absent from their lyrical concerns.
With Daniel Fox of Gilla Band once more in the producer's chair, this new single Takes a Second marks a dramatic escalation in the group’s sound. It pushes the very structure of what constitutes a song as they embrace elements of noise, atonalism, electronica and the raw emotion which is rarely absent from their lyrical concerns.
The opening gradually grows into a wall of all enveloping entropy, mirroring the unraveling of a romantic relationship in its final stages. Balancing restraint and release, the track channels tension into a cathartic collapse. Fox’s sympathetic and clever production captures both the bleak intimacy of the subject matter and the brutal energy of the band’s performance.
Vocalist Kyle Thornton explains: “It’s the death knell of a romantic relationship – the acceptance that the bond now exists on borrowed time.”
With Takes a Second we get a foretaste of the upcoming EP. Lyrically and conceptually, Iarmhaireacht is deeply rooted in Irish history and identity. As with the first EP Glórach, it integrates archival audio samples - from folklore and podcasts to old TV broadcasts - to underscore the ongoing relevance of social and economic struggles in modern Ireland. The band’s embrace of Irish culture is visible in every aspect of the project, from the use of Ogham script and traditional wren boys’ costumes to Irish-language interludes.
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