Dustin's Best of 2017, #11: Nervous Dater - 'Don't Be a Stranger'

I first saw Nervous Dater in early 2016 when they played a show with CUTTERS and Semiotics. I couldn't remember a single song they played, but I remember really liking their energy and I bought the A Hundred Beers EP and listened to it a bunch. The next thing I knew, my Facebook feed was clogged with posts about Nervous Dater and seeing everyone else's excitement about the band got me even more excited.

Then I embarrassingly lost track of them for awhile and I hadn't been aware that they were in the process of recording anything at all, let alone an LP (which is weird because I follow the band on Twitter where they're relatively active), but I managed to catch them at a show with Cold Wrecks the day after I moved. The timing was perfect: I was in the need of a pick-me-up, and getting to hear "Kelly Said" reminded me how much I was looking forward to hearing new music by them. That's when they announced they'd be releasing Don't Be a Stranger just a month later.

Now, I'm not saying I only enjoyed Don't Be a Stranger because I was going through a tough emotional time when it was released but I am saying that it definitely added to its replay value for me. Lines like "it's hard to ask for help when you don't really want it," "I was comfortable being lonely but now I'm back and I'm beat," "I won't drop by, I won't pick up the phone unless it's you calling" really strike a chord when you're going through a break up and the only people that you want to talk to are the people you can't.

Of course, as someone who struggles with turning their self doubt and loneliness into art, I enjoy hearing other people accomplish that kind of feat. Not so much because they're suffering too, that part sucks, but because they have an outlet that (hopefully) helps them ease their pains while also helping other people (like me). Nervous Dater couldn't have released Don't Be a Stranger at a better time and I'm all the more thankful for it.

Stream Don't Be a Stranger below.

Recommended tracks: "Bad Spanish," "Don't Be a Stranger," "Serenity," "Saratoga," "Wavelengths"


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