Here’s the video premiere of the latest single from LA-based See Night, the musical project of guitarist and singer-songwriter Linda Sao. “NYC Coats” is a raw, stripped-back song that reflects the simple, heartfelt subject matter in the spare instrumentation and arrangement. Sao explores the fleeting nature of love for touring musicians as she sings, quietly and with resignation, of saying goodbye to someone about to leave on tour and of not wanting to leave their embrace. She says: “I heard that first, casual iPhone recording and I knew that this was it, that this was the take. Simple and foundationally singer-songwriter, flaws and all. No break or bridge. No reverb or vocal mic. It’s a poem. I wrote it right after playing in Brooklyn for the first time, and so a NYC winter was on my mind.” And this is, indeed, that first take, created as a voice memo on her phone – the stark nature of the recording reinforces those feelings of loss and helplessness in the face of a sorrowful parting. Her guitar work is subtle, and her vocal performance is intimate and feels authentic. We feel like we could be in the room with Sao as she shares her innermost thoughts and the poetry of her feelings.
Sao told AUK about the song and video: “I wanted the music video to reflect the minimalist nature of this simple acoustic song. Instead of strictly visualizing the song lyrics, which are about the ephemeral nature of love on tour and an impending goodbye between two people, I wanted it to capture the writing of ‘NYC Coats’ in my old San Francisco bedroom. I saw the animator Rnotte’s work and knew she could create a straightforward yet charming interpretation of that experience, just a girl and her guitar. There is an innocence to the animation, just like there is an innocence to this stripped-down ballad without any bells and whistles that addresses such basic human emotion. I wrote ‘NYC Coats’ in a very private moment that, due to the pandemic, had a heightened solitary nature to it—but now this video brings listeners into the room with me. When I watch it, I feel like I’m time travelling back to that night on March 31, 2020.”
“NYC Coats” is the lo-fi final song on See Night’s brand new album, “Just Another Life”, which will be released on 28th February 2025. Mostly written and recorded during the enforced isolation of the pandemic, the new record is a reflective look at life, human emotions and ideas of leaving and coming home. Sao explains: “Inherently there was no band practice during the pandemic. I felt myself going back to a more lyrical place. These are all heart songs. I was also writing on my piano as I revisited my old sheet music I dug up from when I was a kid. I’m writing like a rubber-band, expanding and contracting, playing with the dynamic of heavy rock and empty space. Throughout the pandemic, all I wanted to do was tour again. I’ve lived many lives and I’ve now moved to L.A. for family reasons, which was a huge leap…leaving a whole life behind. My father’s passing was another part of my life that was lost, and it marked a new reality. This album feels like I’m stepping into a new light.”
After a varied collection, covering a range of genres from fuzzy garage-rock to orchestral, shoe-gazing introspection via piano-based instrumentals, See Night closes the album with “NYC Coats”, this quiet, understated ballad grounds us and the music in the reality of universal human experience and emotion. It’s a short, direct reveal of Sao’s intimate feelings at a moment of parting from a loved one; it’s a song that we can all relate to, even if we’re not touring musicians.
