Credit: Far Out / Michael Nau / drumhum / José González
November 1st, 2026 · 6:00am GMT
In an era dominated by uber-polished digital production, artists who choose to wrap their recordings in the warmth of a bygone era offer a comforting retreat.
Speaking with Far Out earlier this year, José González prescribed us his nine favourite records. Michael Nau’s Some Twist appeared at number two on the list. “Michael Nau is another artist who makes music that sounds older than it is,” he said, praising the way Nau and his collaborators record.
González, who has built a career on gentle, unhurried music, clearly values records that sit comfortably in the background of a life. Reflecting on Nau’s craft, González praised how the record’s vintage warmth serves a specific domestic purpose. He singled out the track ‘I Root’ as the ultimate accompaniment for a slow weekend, calling it “perfect Sunday morning music, the kind of thing you put on while having breakfast, coffee, or reading.” Where the record’s other moments reach for fuller harmonies or neon-lit wandering, ‘I Root’ is a wispy reverie, a blend of country, folk and psychedelia.
That homespun warmth comes from how the record was made. Recorded across a patchwork of locations, the album came together through a pretty fluid process of experimentation, and Some Twist carries a rustic quality. As Nau explained in interviews around the album’s release, writing often happened concurrently with recording, meaning ideas evolved and shifted on the fly.
There’s no doubt that Nau is an underrated singer-songwriter, wielding a knack for evocative songwriting that rewards repeat listens. Since 2004, as the frontman of Page France and then Cotton Jones, and as a solo artist, Nau has laid a rich foundation of projects. Whether it’s misty psychedelic folk or dream-pop soundscapes like Beach House, his musical profile proves that timeless composition is entirely immune to the constraints of any one era.
When Some Twist dropped in the summer of 2017 via Suicide Squeeze Records, critics immediately embraced its analogue charm. Reviewers praised how the record sidestepped pastiche, with Exclaim! noting that Nau managed to “channel yesterday’s greats without ever lazily copying them.”
Adding to its brilliance, Nau sequenced the album to mirror a full 24-hour cycle, moving from morning, afternoon and dusk, to twilight, midnight and dawn. The opener, ‘Good Thing,’ ushers in the day with Motown-style soul, and the closer, ‘Light That Ever,’ brings it full circle. That intentional structure makes the early placement of ‘I Root’ worth noticing, neatly supporting González’s depiction of it as ultimate morning music.
Further reading: From The Vault
While modern audiences obsess over and often weaponise the term ‘background music’ as a critique, it’s refreshing to hear González embrace it as a form of praise. It’s true that we shouldn’t turn a blind eye to the sonic middle ground, as balance can be harder to strike than extremes.
González described Nau’s tracks as “music that works at both low and high volume and doesn’t disturb, but instead gently affects your mood. This sits somewhere between very soft and more upbeat music, a kind of perfect middle ground.”
Sounds about right for Sunday brunch.
