Dave Hartley (musician)

Not to be confused with David Hartley (musician), a soundtrack composer, or The Nightlands, a fictional RPG setting.
Dave Hartley
Background information
Birth name David J. Hartley
Also known as Nightlands
Born 1980 (age 35–36)
Frederick, Maryland
Origin United States
Genres Indie rock, shoegaze, dream pop, experimental rock
Occupation(s) Musician, singer-songwriter, sports writer, sound engineer
Instruments Bass, trumpet, vocals, guitar (baritone, acoustic, electric, lap steel, Nashville, twelve-string), Minimoog Voyager, Roland Juno-60, drums, synth bass, etc.
Years active 2004–present
Labels Secretly Canadian
Associated acts The War on Drugs, Sondre Lerche, Capitol Years, BC Camplight
Website Nightlands.us
Notable instruments
Bass

Dave Hartley (born 1980) is an American multi-instrumentalist, sound engineer, songwriter and vocalist. Based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he is best known as the bass guitarist for the indie rock band The War on Drugs, with whom he has recorded three studio albums.

In 2010 Hartley began releasing music under the name Nightlands. His debut album, Forget the Mantra, was released in 2010, on Secretly Canadian,[1] and his sophomore album, Oak Island, came out in early 2013 to a positive reception in the music press.[2][3] Hartley has toured the United States as Nightlands,[4] and he continues to appear as a sound engineer, vocalist, and instrumentalist on projects by other musicians such as Sharon Van Etten, Pompeya, Torres, and Alela Diane. He is also a sports-writer for WXPN in Philadelphia, and operates an official NBA blog.[5]

Early life and education

David J. Hartley was raised in the small city of Frederick, Maryland.[6] Hartley played trumpet starting in elementary school, practicing with jazz bands before picking up the bass guitar[6] by the age of twelve.[7] Playing with a rock 'n roll band with friends from nearby Middletown as a teenager, after graduating Frederick High School in 1998, he began attending James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.[6] After graduating and living for a time in the Virgin Islands, he moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at age 22.[6]

Music career

Wagonwheel Blues, Nightlands and Slave Ambient (2006-2011)

Main article: Forget the Mantra

Hartley joined the Philadelphia-based group The War on Drugs in 2005, primarily taking on the duties of bass guitar and electric guitars.[8] By the end of 2008, despite the position reception of their debut album, Kurt Vile, Hall, and Lloyd all left the band, leaving Adam Granduciel and Hartley as the two remaining members.[9] In October 2009, Hartley also toured with the band Capitol Years, who rejoined Daniel Johnston for a tour of the east coast and Canada. In 2010 the production of The War on Drug's upcoming album Slave Ambient began taking longer than expected, leaving Hartley time to focus on his solo project in earnest.[10]

Writing his own music for the first time as Nightlands, he based his initial songs on musical ideas inspired by dreams.[11] Forget the Mantra, his debut album,[10][12] was released on November 9, 2010 on Secretly Canadian,[13] and largely well received by critics.[14] Wrote Laura Studarus of Under the Radar, the album "is a dizzying sound quilt, stitched together from pieces of found sounds, aging cassettes, Gregorian chants, multi-layered chouses, Afro-rhythm sections, handclaps, and (most certainly) a few things that go bump in the night."[1] In January 2011, as Nightlands Hartley released the EP All the Way on 7" vinyl through Secretly Canadian.[15] Also in 2011, he released as well as a number of covers which according to Allmusic, "included a gorgeously hazy version of Lindsey Buckingham's 'Trouble.'"[10]

The War on Drugs' second studio album, Slave Ambient was released to widespread critical acclaim in 2011.[16][17] Hartley handled additional engineering, and also contributed bass guitar, electric guitar, Nashville guitar, twelve-string guitar, Voyager, Roland Juno-60, drums, and electric autoharp.[18] It peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard US Top Heatseekers chart.[19]

Oak Island and touring (2013-present)

Pictured is Hartley (far left) performing with The War on Drugs in Zurich in 2014

Nightlands' sophomore album Oak Island was recorded by Hartley sporadically throughout 2010 and 2011, largely in Hartley's bedroom in Philadelphia.[20] None of the instruments were looped, with Hartley playing each track through.[7] It was released as a CD, vinyl LP, and digital download[21] through Secretly Canadian[22] on January 21, 2013.[21] The album was generally well received.[2][3][21][23][24] Popmatters praised Hartley's vocal delivery and layering, and wrote that "Hartley’s lyrics are personal without falling into cliché, and the lush instrumentation generally avoids easy sentimentality."[20] In early 2013, Nightlands was performing in Philadelphia as a four-piece band,[25] and that May he undertook a tour of the US, joined by Anthony LaMarca on the trap kit, Jesse Moore on synth, and Eliza Hardy Jones on the Wurlitzer. The shows in New York City and Philadelphia also at times featured a five-member chorus.[4]

On 4 December 2013 The War on Drugs announced the upcoming release of its third studio album, Lost in the Dream, which came out on March 18, 2014.[26] The lead single from the album, "Red Eyes," peaked at No. 53 on the Ultratop singles chart in 2014,[27] and the album debuted at number 26 on the Billboard 200. Based on 139 year-end top ten lists compiled by Metacritic, Lost in the Dream was the most critically acclaimed album of 2014, appearing on 54 lists and being named first on 13 of them.[28] Hartley has continued to appear as a sound engineer, vocalist, and instrumentalist on projects by other musicians, including Sharon Van Etten, Pompeya, Torres, Steven A. Clark, and Alela Diane. Both David Hartley and fellow The War on Drugs member Adam Granduciel contributed to singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten's fourth studio album, Are We There (2014). Hartley performs bass guitar on the entire album, and other projects Hartley is involved with include the Silver Ages, an all-male indie choir.[25] He is also a sports-writer for WXPN in Philadelphia, and operates an official NBA blog.[5]

Discography

With The War on Drugs

Albums and EPs

Year Album Peak positions
US US Heat AUS
[29]		 BEL
[27]		 DEN
[30]		 NED
[31]		 SWE
[32]		 SWI
[33]		 UK
[34]		 UK Indie
2007 Barrel of Batteries EP — — — — — — — — — —
2008 Wagonwheel Blues — — — — — — — — — —
2010 Future Weather EP — — — — — — — — — —
2011 Slave Ambient — 4 — 180 — — — — 127 —
2014 Lost in the Dream 26 — 28 3 19 18 26 66 18 2

As Nightlands

Albums

Year Album title Release details
2010 Forget the Mantra
2013 Oak Island

EPs

Year Title Label Release details
2011 All the Way Forget the Mantra Secretly Canadian 7"/digital download (Jan 2011)

Guest appearances

Incomplete list of guest appearances production credits for Dave Hartley
Yr Release title Artist(s) Role
2005 Shake the Hand That Shook the World Pepper's Ghost Bass guitar, vocals[35]
2008 Soldiers for Feet Adam Arcuragi Engineer, producer, guitar, trumpet, vocals[36]
2009 I Am Become Joy Adam Arcuragi Engineer, bass guitar, guitar, trumpet, vocals[37]
2010 Summer Fiction Summer Fiction Bass guitar, baritone guitar[38]
Epic Sharon Van Etten Bass guitar
2011 Patch of Land Emily Arin Bass guitar[39]
2012 Junior Violence Ape School Backing vocals[40]
2013 About Farewell Alela Diane Bass guitar, drums[41]
They're Flowers Luxury Liners Vocals[42]
In Spirit Buried Beds Bass guitar, vocals[43]
Animina: A Race Street Soundwalk The Mural and the Mint Bass guitar, vocals[44]
"Bounty" Steven A. Clark Bass guitar[45]
2014 American War Madelean Gauze Bass guitar[46]
"New Skin" Torres Bass guitar[47]
Are We There Sharon Van Etten Bass guitar (all tracks), guitar, baritone guitar, synth bass, backing vocals, claps
2015 Real Pompeya Vocal production[48]
I Don't Want to Let You Down EP Sharon Van Etten Bass guitar[49]

Further reading

Interviews and articles
Discographies

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Studarus, Laura. "Forget the Mantra". Under the Radar. Retrieved 2015-05-12.
  2. 1 2 "Oak Island". Metacritic. January 21, 2013. Retrieved 2015-05-10.
  3. 1 2 Cohen, Ian (January 21, 2013). "Oak Island". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2015-05-10.
  4. 1 2 Mazenko, Elizabeth (May 31, 2013). "Interview: How Nightlands’ Dave Hartley is bringing his layered sound to the stage tonight". The Key. Retrieved 2015-05-20.
  5. 1 2 "Ask An Indie Rock Dude About Sports with Dave Hartley of The War On Drugs". Sports Illustrated. November 4, 2014. Retrieved 2015-05-20.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Crowe, Katie (March 2, 2012). "From Frederick to Fallon". The Frederick News-Post. Retrieved 2015-05-20.
  7. 1 2 Hood, Bryan (January 31, 2013). "Musical Tapestry: Nightlands' Dave Hartley on Experimenting With Sound". Blouin Artinfo. Retrieved 2015-05-20.
  8. ↑ Greene, Jayson. "Q&A - Kurt Vile on His Favourite Bob Seger Song and the Neil Young Solo That Changed His Life". villagevoice.com. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  9. ↑ The War on Drugs at Allmusic
  10. 1 2 3 Phares, Heather. "Nightlands biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2015-05-20.
  11. ↑ "Forget the Mantra". Secretly Canadian. Retrieved 2015-05-12.
  12. ↑ "Forget the Mantra". Allmusic. November 9, 2010. Retrieved 2014-12-30.
  13. ↑ "Nightlands – Forget The Mantra". Discogs. Retrieved 2015-05-12.
  14. ↑ Berman, Stuart (November 16, 2010). "Forget the Mantra Review". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2015-05-12.
  15. ↑ Fitzmaurice, Larry (January 20, 2011). "Nightlands: "All the Way"". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2015-05-12.
  16. ↑ Franco, Michael. Persevering Through the Confusion: An Interview with The War on Drugs. Popmatters. 21 November 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
  17. ↑ Musical Pairings: The War On Drugs - Slave Ambient | Turntable Kitchen
  18. ↑ Slave Ambient - Credits. Allmusic. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
  19. ↑ Slave Ambient - Charts & Awards. Allmusic. Retrieved 5 September 2011
  20. 1 2 Messana, Matt (February 7, 2013). "Oak Island". PopMatters. Retrieved 2015-05-10.
  21. 1 2 3 Phares, Heather (January 21, 2013). "Oak Island review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2014-12-30.
  22. ↑ "Oak Island". Secretly Canadian. Retrieved 2015-05-10.
  23. ↑ Jackson, Dan (January 25, 2013). "Oak Island". CMJ. Retrieved 2015-05-10.
  24. ↑ Geffen, Sasha (February 5, 2013). "Oak Island". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2015-05-10.
  25. 1 2 DeLuca, Dan (January 23, 2013). "Coming off the bench: Hoops and music mix for 32-year-old Philadelphia songwriter Dave Hartley". Philly.com. Retrieved 2015-05-20.
  26. ↑ "First Listen: The War On Drugs, 'Lost In The Dream'". NPR.org. 2014-03-09. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
  27. 1 2 "The War on Drugs discography". ultratop.be/nl/. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
  28. ↑ Best of 2014: Music Critic Top Ten Lists. Metacritic. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  29. ↑ "The War on Drugs discography". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
  30. ↑ "The War on Drugs discography". danishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
  31. ↑ "The War on Drugs discography". dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
  32. ↑ "The War on Drugs discography". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
  33. ↑ "The War on Drugs discography". hitparade.ch. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
  34. ↑ "CHART LOG UK: NEW ENTRIES UPDATE - COMBINED SINGLES (200) Chart Date: 3.09.2011". Zobbel.de. Retrieved 2013-05-12.
  35. ↑ Shake the Hand That Shook the World at Allmusic
  36. ↑ Soldiers for Feet at hightwo.com (May 2008)
  37. ↑ I Am Become Joy at Allmusic
  38. ↑ Summer Fiction at Allmusic
  39. ↑ Emily Arin at Sonicbids
  40. ↑ Ape School at Allmusic
  41. ↑ About Farewell at Allmusic
  42. ↑ They're Flowers at Pitchfork Media
  43. ↑ In Spirit Announced at The Swollen Fox
  44. ↑ Animina at canarypromo.com
  45. ↑ Bounty at xpn.org
  46. ↑ Madelean Gauze at XPN.org
  47. ↑ New Skin at Stereogum
  48. ↑ Pompeya at arena.com
  49. ↑ I don't Want to Let You Down at Pitchfork Media

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