Nightmare of You is not a hardcore band (however misleading their name may be), it is not a pop-punk band and the members are not fighting against their roots.
They are simply branching out, both literally and sonically.
Veterans of the hardcore circuit, guitarist and vocalist Brandon Reilly and guitarist Joseph McCaffrey said they have finally found something they can settle on: melodic rock rife with innuendo and intrigue.
"It was fate," McCaffrey joked.
"No - but seriously," Reilly, 26, said. "I've found something that I can really be proud of. I've expanded my musical horizons and had a chance to develop my own style of playing."
They just left their homes in Brooklyn days ago to start on a three-month, full U.S. tour, which started in North Carolina. The tour comes to Gainesville's 1982 this Monday and will finish at Gramercy Park in June.
They will be supporting two self-released albums: 2005's "Nightmare of You" and 2007's "Bang! EP", both of which have been met with praise by both old fans that have followed Reilly from both the Long Island punk scene and sharp-sensed critics who compare them to The Smiths.
Reilly, previously the 18-year-old guitarist of late pop-punk legends, The Movielife, won't be playing at that band's reunion show this summer's at the Bamboozle Festival, but he wishes to dispel rumors that there is any animosity between him and his ex-bandmates.
"I think the biggest misconception is that Vinnie (Caruana, lead singer of The Movielife) and I aren't on good terms. He came over to my house the other day and we still hang out," Reilly said.
"I guess I started feeling a little dissatisfied toward the end of us as a band. I was writing my own material and I knew it just didn't mesh with the sound of The Movielife, that's all."
After meeting McCaffrey of various local New York hardcore bands, the two began to flesh out some of Reilly's solo material.
The two admitted to spinning "an unhealthy amount of Bowie's 'Scary Monsters'" as well as lots of Wilco, The Grateful Dead, Spoon, reggae and dub as they prepare to begin work on their second full-length album.
"We're writing it right now," Reilly said. "We don't want to put it out ourselves after seeing how much work goes into putting out a record. We're talking loosely to a few labels."
On the tour, the band will be playing a variety of their material.
"You'll definitely be hearing some B-sides and some songs that are older than the record," Reilly said. "Probably about three tunes that aren't on the 'Bang EP' or the 'S/T.'"
"We will probably pull out some really old stuff but toward the end of the tour, you will be probably hearing some new stuff," McCaffrey added. "Forty sound checks are bound to produce something."
