![\"Michael](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Michael-Nau-Jose-Gonzalez-Split-Far-Out-Magazine-1140x855.jpg\")
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Credit: Far Out \/ Michael Nau \/ drumhum \/ Jose\u0301 Gonza\u0301lez<\/p>\n
November 1st, 2026 \u00b7 6:00am GMT <\/p>\n
In an era dominated by uber-polished digital production, artists<\/a> who choose to wrap their recordings in the warmth of a bygone era offer a comforting retreat. <\/p>\n Speaking with Far Out earlier this year, Jos\u00e9 Gonz\u00e1lez prescribed us his nine favourite records<\/a>. Michael Nau\u2019s Some Twist appeared at number two on the list. \u201cMichael Nau is another artist who makes music that sounds older than it is,\u201d he said, praising the way Nau and his collaborators record.<\/p>\n Gonz\u00e1lez, who has built a career on gentle, unhurried music, clearly values records that sit comfortably in the background of a life. Reflecting on Nau\u2019s craft, Gonz\u00e1lez praised how the record\u2019s vintage warmth serves a specific domestic purpose. He singled out the track \u2018I Root\u2019 as the ultimate accompaniment for a slow weekend, calling it \u201cperfect Sunday morning music, the kind of thing you put on while having breakfast, coffee, or reading.\u201d Where the record\u2019s other moments reach for fuller harmonies or neon-lit wandering, \u2018I Root\u2019 is a wispy reverie, a blend of country, folk and psychedelia.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>, and Some Twist carries a rustic quality. As Nau explained in interviews around the album\u2019s release, writing often happened concurrently with recording, meaning ideas evolved and shifted on the fly.<\/p>\n There\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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 \u201cchannel yesterday\u2019s greats without ever lazily copying them.\u201d<\/p>\n 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, \u2018Good Thing,\u2019 ushers in the day with Motown-style soul, and the closer, \u2018Light That Ever,\u2019 brings it full circle. That intentional structure makes the early placement of \u2018I Root\u2019 worth noticing, neatly supporting Gonz\u00e1lez\u2019s depiction of it as ultimate morning music<\/a>.<\/p>\n Further reading: From The Vault<\/p>\n While modern audiences obsess over and often weaponise the term \u2018background music\u2019 as a critique, it\u2019s refreshing to hear Gonz\u00e1lez embrace it as a form of praise. It\u2019s true that we shouldn\u2019t turn a blind eye to the sonic middle ground, as balance can be harder to strike than extremes. <\/p>\n Gonz\u00e1lez described Nau\u2019s tracks as\u00a0\u201cmusic that works at both low and high volume and doesn\u2019t disturb, but instead gently affects your mood. This sits somewhere between very soft and more upbeat music, a kind of perfect middle ground.\u201d <\/p>\n Sounds about right for Sunday brunch.<\/p>\n
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