Los Angeles-based indie-rock project See Night’s new album, Just Another Life, lays out its narrative from the opening chords. The title track—released today—launches with a catchy, astral, near–new wave hook that gives way to a massive, pounding bridge. Written during pandemic isolation as a farewell to old lives and the anticipation of a new beginning, it’s already earning praise. Bob Boilen (NPR Music) sums it up: “I’m loving this record,” while Bob Nastanovich of Pavement calls it, “The music sounds glorious.”
The record unfolds as a layered exploration of departure, loss, and the urge to keep moving forward. It begins with “Being Good Is Supposed To Be Easy,” a raw, foreboding opener fueled by distorted guitars, a hooky bassline, and dynamics that let Linda Sao’s ethereal vocals address generational trauma and the passing of her father. “LA Traffic” transforms a familiar urban grind into a poetic pre-dawn drive in Los Angeles—a nod to Sao’s new home and the bittersweet nature of fleeting connections. The title track revisits the momentum of leaving old identities behind, its massive bridge evoking a time-traveling pulse amid lingering loneliness.
Instrumental interludes punctuate the album. “Piano No. 1 (Morning)” and “Piano No. 2 (Night)”—improvised in the studio as tributes to Sao’s classical piano roots—bind the record’s journey, while “NYC Coats” closes the set as a raw, bedroom acoustic memo capturing a quiet, inevitable farewell.
Critical voices are measured yet approving. As The AU Review notes, “There is so much to love about ‘Just Another Life.’ The vocals are warm and gripping. There’s a purity yet a hint of darkness to them. They are beautifully paired with an infectious, almost cosmic, new wave-like melody, before escalating into a grand, pulsating bridge that feels like an epic journey… [it’s] about putting the past behind, and moving on… an enchanting slice of indie-pop rock.”
James Rickman adds, “The arrangements are gorgeous and the piano songs make the whole thing feel like a journey. As does the unadorned ‘NYC Coats’ at the end. This EP sounds so…assured. The voice, the songs, the production.”
The Big Takeover observes, “Sao has poured all manner of mood and emotion, deep thoughts and heartache into [‘Being Good Is Supposed To Be Easy’]…this thought-provoking, soul-searching sentiment to a sound that ebbs and flows between shoegazing walls of noise, alt-rock muscle, and more delicate and considered indie riffs, like a modern take on the gnarlier end of the college rock sound of days gone by.”
Damon Orion states, “So damn good. Between the hi-fi sound quality, the concise, direct songwriting, the sensitive musicianship of some seasoned Nashville players, and Linda Sao’s refined vocals, which have never sounded better, Just Another Life is easily See Night’s most accessible offering to date. All that time on the road seems to have put the polish on Sao’s pipes—her smooth, emotive delivery falls somewhere between Neko Case’s and Natalie Merchant’s, and she knows just how to shake a few extra drops of emotion from a note with her highly controlled vibrato.”
See Night is the brainchild of Linda Sao, who fronts the band alongside drummer Cory Aboud, guitarist Patrick Andrews, and bassist AJ Marquez. Known for explosive live shows, See Night has shared stages with Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Widowspeak, Matthew Logan Vasquez (Delta Spirit), Lady Lamb, John Vanderslice, Rogue Wave, The Pack a.d., Sunwatchers, and David Dondero. The 7-inch single “Eloquence” was handpicked by Bob Nastanovich and released on his Brokers Tip Records. Sao is also an official Anderson Guitarworks artist alongside James Iha, Hannah Wicklund, and Graham Nash.
The album was largely recorded over three days at Tresland studio in Nashville with co-producer Tres Sasser and engineer Joe Costa, plus an additional session at The Bomb Shelter with engineer Jack Tellman.
Sasser enlisted drummer Brad Pemberton, Grammy- and Juno-winning violinist Tania Elizabeth, and guitarist Chris Tench to flesh out Sao’s vision, with the final master by Brian Lucey.
Sao explains, “Tres and Joe have become my go-to studio team of incredibly talented friends. They’ve both worked on the previous See Night releases. And just like with my bandmates, I have to feel emotionally safe with the people I work with because both recording in a studio and performing live onstage are incredibly vulnerable things. I want good people to infuse good energy into what I consider personal heart songs.”
Her journey is as layered as her music. “I was a solo traveler even before I played music publicly,” Sao notes. “That was fate training me to be a DIY touring musician. My happy place is in the window seat on a train. Traveling is freedom, a way to seek optimism and hope because you never know who or what’s behind a door. Monotony gets me down. Touring has been my cure.”
Regarding the intimate “NYC Coats,” she recalls, “I heard that first, casual iPhone recording and I knew that this was it, that this was the take.”
The album’s themes are deeply personal.
Sao, a Vietnamese-American whose parents met during the Vietnam War, pays homage to her family history with the band’s name—a nod to the Sea Knight helicopter her father once flew. His passing last year permeates the record, a backdrop to themes of loss and new beginnings. In 2024, she joined author Christina Vo on a music and book tour for her memoir My Vietnam, Your Vietnam, sharing personal stories that resonate with her own.
A return to her roots is evident. Sao’s classical piano training from ages eight to sixteen emerges in the improvised “Piano No. 1 (Morning)” and “Piano No. 2 (Night),” while her evolution from acoustic songwriter to electric indie-rocker underpins See Night’s dynamic sound—a sound that has grown from early releases like the EPs Where Are You (2014) and You Are Us (2018) into a measured, reflective album intended for full-listen experiences.
