Night Hikes - 'Belltown'

Inspired by a chance encounter while changing buses in nocturnal Seattle, dreamy jangle-pop duo Night Hikes have offered up a poignant vignette on isolation, the invisibility of the individual and the ambivalent comfort of urban spaces in their new single 'Belltown'.

Contemplatively paced and lyrically insightful, 'Belltown' is something of a master class in the virtues of people watching, retelling a fleeting insight into the life of another traveler with a fitting cinematic quality. With pointedly lethargic instrumentation, the band evoke the longing of the subject to disappear into the ether of the night, with soft swaying movements intensifying the breathy dreaminess of its narrative somnambulation.

A tranquil single, at peace with its own mysterious air, it strikes us that this particular night hike is that of an modern flâneur, sauntering observantly into the Seattle suburbs, timing their meandering stroll to the shuffling strikes of a shimmering ride cymbal, taking in the night and allowing the mind to drift.