Nassau

Though Jeffrey Silverstein and Justin Wilcox, who record under the name Nassau, are ostensibly a folk duo, their single “Wake the Dead” is a deceptively complex intertwining of sounds. Wilcox’s sleepy-eyed vocal recalls Kurt Vile at his early best, while Silverstein’s looping guitar lines braid into one another and around a loping backbeat. Peals of lap steel seem to shake the vocal, waking Wilcox’s melody into a bright-eyed chorus, while the steel itself takes the time to moan over the track in a kind of wounded dance. It’s a brief, hypnotic track, and if it’s not loud enough to wake the actual dead, it’ll at least leave you with a shiver.

“Wake the Dead” is the first single from the group’s forthcoming EP Hoss, which will be out this spring. Give it a listen below. - FLOOD Magazine

Brooklyn’s Nassau have a transportive sound that’s far removed from the noise of the city. After pursuing respective projects in Baltimore and Chattanooga, the duo of Justin Wilcox and Jeffrey Silverstein began working together late last year on a debut EP, Hoss, and their collaboration has proved breathtaking, combining careful lyricism with soft, glowing instrumentation.


Follow-up to a striking first single driven by the slide of mellow guitars, “Desert Blues” pulls the EP into a more melancholy headspace. With a slow-dance sway and the steadying pulse of a kick drum and tambourine, it paints a wrenching picture of a walk after hours, the sound of a night breeze running alongside a soothing ambient wail. When the words “Just drive me further away from you” cut through the imagery, it’s piercing, the absence thoroughly felt. Nassau have captured a calm and low feeling here, like the rest that sometimes accompanies resignation, and it’s easy to sink deep into that feeling over the course of the song’s four minutes. - IMPOSE Magazine

Nassau is the duo of Brooklyn-based songwriters Justin Wilcox and Jeffrey Silverstein. Both were sitting on a bunch of undeveloped material until they came together from respective projects in Baltimore and Chattanooga and helped each other bring their ideas to fruition. Their debut EP, Hoss, sees those ideas fully formed. The EP is full of evocative psych folk with inventive incorporation of ambient synth textures, cleverly inter-weaved guitar lines, and penetrating writing. The collection of songs is rooted in a resonant twang, but the duo expands and opens it, displaying a wonderful elasticity in their sound. Wilcox’s soothing voice drifts through the varying soundscapes on the album with a serene, calming effect on lyrics that get much heavier than their delivery suggests. Listen. - Stereogum

Just as the season itself begins to allude to the on-rushing summer months and all they bring, so too the music of the time takes on varying forms and shapes that hint at all the sultry days laid out ahead like alluring stepping-stones to some vague end-point you’re never quite aware of.

Nassau are a new duo from New York and ‘Wake The Dead‘, the lead track from their forthcoming EP, is typical of such exploration; a hazy, luscious moment of restraint that feels like the stifling heat of a sun-filled day personified. And it’s all in the instrumentation. The lyrics themselves don’t necessarily point to such conclusions but the subtle sway of that guitar, the gliding shiver of that voice, bring about a mood and temperament that clings like the closeness of sparkling weather, making even the smallest of movement feel like a touch too much.

Beautifully crafted and delivered with a delicate touch that seems to reveal more on each listen, it’s a sumptuous starting-point, and an extremely promising one at that. Check it out below. - Gold Flake Paint

Nassau is the collaborative project of Brooklyn-based duo Justin Wilcox and Jeffrey Silverstein. Their debut EP, Hoss, is out now on Firetalk Records. Taking a break from projects in Baltimore and Chattanooga, the pair say that Nassau was formed “out of a mutual respect for raw, honest music”. If Hoss is anything to go by, let’s hope the partnership continues.

Opening track ‘Wake the Dead’ has subtle beats and mellow guitar, hitting the same slinky melancholy chord as Dawn Golden’s Still Life, while ‘White Gold’ brings a drawled folky edge to things, although that’s still rooted in dreamy guitars and a mellow ambient vibe. My current favourite, ‘Desert Blues’, is wonderfully relaxed, a slow-burning, slow-groovin’ track that sounds like Water Liars swaying in sunglasses, or the feeling of watching a summer’s evening fading from peach to blue-grey, the air thick with an insect hum and the petrichor of distant storms. - Wake The Deaf

See Link - Out of Town Films

Jeffrey Silverstein and Justin Wilcox are Nassau. Both men are Brooklyn-based musical transplants. They took the time for their first official interview, to talk about how their debut EP, Hoss came together and what’s in store for Nassau in the near future. - OLD ROOKIE

Included on Spotify's official Undercurrents Playlist - Spotify

Desert Blues included. - Wake The Deaf

Brooklyn-based duo Nassau plays melodies for the restless. Composed of Justin Wilcox and Jeffrey Silverstein, a pair dedicated to the creation of jams that speak to the soul, Nassau’s sound leaves listeners in an ethereal state of dreaming. The soothing, ambient folk sound that the duo has curated embodies serenity. Picture this: a foggy evening spent watching neon signs blink on and off, allowing the mind to wander; a cold, rainy morning spent indoors sipping hot chocolate while reading a book. These visuals are articulated auditorily on Nassau’s latest EP, Hoss, which dropped last June on Fire Talk Records. The record consists of four tracks that make conceivable the ability to take a break from any troubling conflicts that tend to arise from day to day living.

Since the release of Hoss, the duo has played a multitude of shows at venues in both Brooklyn and Manhattan – rest assured, their upcoming gig at Sunnyvale this Saturday is not one to call in sick for. We recently caught up with the pair, discussing how it feels to live as New York City musicians who originally hail from locations like Baltimore and Chattanooga. Read below for more, and be sure to keep an eye out for Nassau!



What are some methods you employ while trying to write a new song? What do you aim for– what helps? What do you visualize?

We try to avoid over-thinking and to be conscious of our limitations. As a duo – if we can’t come close to recreating a sound live, that means we’ve done too much and will back-pedal from there. Usually we’ll wind up with about 3-4 demo versions of a tune until we have the structure locked in. Setting the right ambience has been crucial – it’s helped us avoid falling into a more stereotypical folk sound. We think a lot about tempo, tone, and atmosphere – sometimes we’ll ask well is this a song for sitting still, a walk, or a drive. How fast is the person going? Where are they and where are they headed?



How does living in Brooklyn influence your sound? What do you think you’ve taken, and what have you learned, from living here? What has it given you in return?

We are spoiled with the amount of places to hear and perform music at. Sometimes you take for granted living in a city where every day is its own SXSW. Inspiration is certainly not in short supply. I cannot speak to the ways in which the city influences our sound – I think a greater impact has been had on our work ethic. Here you are reminded every day of what it means to work hard to support your art. There is no other way – if you get wrapped up in jealousy or frustration here you will fall apart. You quickly learn that you just have to keep pressing on. And because we are first to see and experience every new trend – New York forces you to ask yourself the big questions like why are you actually doing this and what is that you are really trying to say with your art.







Your EP, Hoss, is mellow, calming, and easy to listen to. It feels like taking a deep breath in, and slowly exhaling. What are the messages you aimed to send through this release? What reactions did you aim to provoke within your listeners? What drove your sound in the direction it went in during production?

Love your description of it – I think it’s totally accurate. For us the EP was about finishing something -getting back in the saddle. Prior to this project we both hadn’t played live or released music in a few years. It was a happy accident that we met when we did – both having bits and pieces of songs that needed to be dusted off and reworked. Working together out of Justin’s apartment was a reminder of how joyful music making can and should be. We only hoped that would come through for the listeners. We weren’t expecting much and have been really taken back by some of the kind messages and notes we’ve gotten from strangers about it. I think what drove the sound to have an organic quality to it is that we are making music we would want to listen to. The whole thing was really stress free. We were kind of co-producers on it, Justin did a great job of taking all of our notes and mixing it into one cohesive unit.



You’re currently signed to Fire Talk Records, which also manages bands like Scully and Turnip King. How did you wind up there? How have you grown as a band, and as people, since this development? Have you found the NYC music scene to be warm and welcoming?

Trevor Peterson runs Fire Talk Records and is one of the kindest and smartest people running an indie label. It’s been so nice to have him in our corner. I met Trevor through playing shows with his band Woodsman in Baltimore. We’ve known each other for a while now – even put out a 7” of theirs on a subscription label I was doing called Singles Club. Trevor was really encouraging when we showed him the demos. I remember him saying how much he enjoyed the guitar playing and Justin’s vocal delivery which meant a lot at the time since we really respect his opinion. Since then we’ve had the opportunity to open some great bills and figure out how to make our set interesting live. Playing live and getting feedback from friends, other musicians, etc. has been invaluable. I think we have a better understanding of what our strengths are and how to utilize them both live and on record. NYC can be intimidating but having someone like Trevor as a support makes it way easier to navigate.



What are your plans moving forward? Do you think another release is in the future, or are you working on one? How do you see yourselves growing based on what has developed since Hoss? Where do you want to be?

We’re working on a follow-up to Hoss as we speak. Hopefully we’ll get something out into the world by May or June with a short tour in July to follow. Until then we’ll be playing locally and perhaps a few weekend runs out of town. Ultimately we want to continue to challenge ourselves to make honest music. We were really surprised at the response to the EP and that has given us a confidence boost. Just want to make sure this project stays fun and low-key. Having both gone through the ringer with larger bands in the past that became a large source of stress, we’re happy with the natural progression that’s happened thus far. It feels like it’s happening a speed that is manageable and coincides nicely with our other endeavors.

– Matt Gallipoli - Popgun Presents

Last spring, Brooklyn duo Nassau released Hoss, a quiet, complex EP of folk-adjacent tunes that won them eventual spots playing with compatriotic acts like Woods and John Andrews and the Yawns. Now, Justin Wilcox and Jeffrey Silverstein are preparing to release Heron, their debut full-length, via Fire Talk, and we’re pleased to be premiering the single “Risin’ Sun.”

It’s a song that builds upon the promise of Hoss. On that EP, heavy textures—cottony and mucoid, nostalgic harmony—formed a pervasive atmosphere, but here the Wilcox and Silverstein puff reverb and drone into the room sparingly, perfuming the song only where it needs it. They shift easily from a dewy vocal line and shuffle rhythm into a porch-ready rag that seems like it could’ve developed into a raga were it not for the humidity. Think Steve Gunn and Chuck Johnson playing together softly, so as to avoid waking the neighbors, and give “Risin’ Sun” a listen below, and should you find yourself in the Acela corridor, Nassaur are coming your way; those dates are below, too. - FLOOD Magazine

Nassau makes lullabies for grownups. It’s not that their lyrics are simplistic — they’re far from it — it’s that there’s something so soothing in every guitar strum that has the power to level you out after a long day. It’s music that urges you to be quiet, sit still, and really listen (you can close your eyes and imagine these guys at a close-knit rooftop party, twinkle lights and all).

The collaborative singer-songwriter duo of Justin Wilcox and Jeffrey Silverstein are bringing all of that energy back and more with the announcement of their debut full-length album Heron, due out in early September. The Brooklyn-based outfit only started making music together in late 2015, which resulted in the release of last year’s Hoss EP. Today, Nassau shares a single from the new album, “Whatever Brings You Peace Of Mind,” a slow jaunt filled with wistful hope and longing. It’s a track that makes you look inward before carrying you home. Check it out below. - Stereogum

s elegant as we’ve come to expect, Brooklyn duo Nassau today unveil “Champagne“, a simmering new track which is lifted from their brand new album, Heron, which is released next month via Fire Talk Records; their first proper full-length effort, following on from 2016’s Hoss EP.

“We set out to make an album that represented the changes happening in our minds, our hearts and in our lives,” the band say of Heron, and while such sentiments often lend themselves to something puzzled and downcast, Justin Wilcox and Jeffrey Silverstein flood their songs with colour, their eyes always looking up and out in to the world rather than the furrowed shadows that are often associated with times of flux.

Blessed with an almost whimsical sway, new track is indicative of such posturing, those glowing vocals sweetly wrapping themselves around the laid-back guitars in a merry dance of summery glowing movement. Smoothly flowing forwards through three-and-a-half beautifully detailed minutes, it’s another woozy slab of pop music that further enhances the pair’s flourishing penchant for crafting sumptuous guitar-pop. Check it out below right now. - GoldFlakePaint

The debut LP from ambient folk duo Nassau is a reflection of change. Songwriters Justin Wilcox and Jeffrey Silverstein started recording together in Brooklyn two years ago, following respective projects in Baltimore and Chattanooga. Since then, Wilcox has married and Silverstein got engaged, finished school, and relocated to Oregon. Heron, which follows their 2016 EP, carefully absorbs the transition and finds balance. Meditative synth textures and guitar work underscore Wilcox’s raspy, measured twang. "They flood their songs with colour," says Gold Flake Paint, "their eyes always looking up and out in to the world rather than the furrowed shadows that are often associated with times of flux." It's out on Fire Talk Records. - Hype Machine

On Heron, the debut full-length album from Nassau, members Justin Wilcox and Jeffrey Silverstein look to the future with hope and calm reserve, using relaxed Americana and psychedelic sounds to amplify those emotions. Equal parts realism and romanticism, Heron guides the listener through the journey of life with a sense of poise and patience. While there is a destination in mind—a calm future, illustrated by a series of serene settings that crop up throughout the record—Nassau cherishes the voyage, and puts their faith in the natural goodness of the world.

Heron opens at the pace of a new mountain stream—alive and steady, but tranquil. “We all get lost…but over time we turn around,” sings Wilcox on “Over Time,” showcasing his overt optimism and fondness for natural imagery. Those two threads run throughout the record; later, on songs like “Whatever Brings You Peace of Mind” and “Risin’ Sun,” the duo dabble in Appalachian folk, electric and acoustic guitars floating and swirling like fallen leaves in the breeze. On “Champagne” and “Long Arc,” two of the album’s more rollicking tracks, the quicker pace injects a welcome enthusiasm into the proceedings.

Lyrically, Heron is fixated on transitions, natural and otherwise. There’s a palpable yearning—for resolution, or maybe simply order—throughout the record, but the songs never succumb to the anxiety of waiting. “Spring comes slowly don’t you know / Winter is over now you can go home,” Wilcox calmly sings on “Risin’ Sun.” The thaw comes again on the aptly-titled “Spring,” a song that starts with uncertainty (“Spring / I often wonder what you’ll bring”), ends with positivity and surrender (“Despite all my places to hide / You’ve always been kind”).

At Heron’s conclusion, the dreamy “Ain’t It Time,” we reach our destination, no longer looking forward, but embracing the power of the present. The chord change that arrives on the bridge captures the excitement of starting anew, but it’s immediately followed by a reversed guitar solo, suggesting that the past is never far. The song ends with the same warping guitars that open the album, completing the circle and starting the journey from the top. Ultimately, Heron is a song cycle in the truest sense, built on the understanding that life is on an unending loop of anticipation and resolve. Seasons change, we do too, and that’s a good thing. - Bandcamp

Single Included on Apple Music's Nightcap playlist. - Apple Music

Brooklyn duo Nassau, AKA Justin Wilcox and Jeffrey Silverstein, are back with their first proper full-length, Heron. You may remember we covered the band’s debut EP Hoss last year, which we described as “like Water Liars swaying in sunglasses, or the feeling of watching a summer’s evening fading from peach to blue-grey, the air thick with an insect hum and the petrichor of distant storms.”

Heron shows renewed focus since the release of Hoss, each of the eight tracks crafted with precision from the reasonably utilitarian set-up of guitar, drum machine and synth, producing a sound that’s clean and smooth, a remarkable feat considering the whole thing was made in Wilcox’s home studio. This sense of focus extends beyond sonic matter too, as the writing centres on the imagery of the titular heron, traditionally a symbol of progression and evolution, to explore themes of evolution and equilibrium, that delicate relationship between balance and change.

But despite this evolution, all the things we liked about Nassau on Hoss are still present. ‘Whatever Brings You Peace of Mind’ has a sidewinding tropical lilt, suffused with peach-pink evening light. It’s a folk song but not as we know it, drawing on ambient and dream pop to transcend the earthy constraints of guitar and percussion, conjuring a sense of space and texture.

If that sounds like dusk, then, as its name suggests, ‘Risin’ Sun’ is a dawn song. Equal parts exotic and mellow, the track is built on minimally tranquil guitar and lyrics which have an almost mantra-like quality, simple lines recited to bring peace and hope to all.

The opening of the instrumental ‘Long Arc’ sounds like a conventional folk song, the gentle acoustics soon joined by electric guitar that skates around with frictionless ease, while ‘Spring’ feels like it’s playing at half speed, infused with a sense of freedom, periods of almost silence punctuating what grows into a heartfelt slice of minimal synth pop. Closer ‘Ain’t it Time’ sounds like the culmination of everything that’s come before. It’s rich and warm and heady with subtle emotion, the crooning vocals at once relaxed and purposeful, stretching out to a leisurely five minutes full of rhetorical questions which point at larger issues of purpose and lifestyle.

It’s perhaps the most obvious nod to the overarching themes on the record, and one which makes renewed sense in light of the note the band wrote about the album: “This record was written and recorded throughout a series of big changes in both of our lives… Throughout all of this – we asked both ourselves and each other a lot of big questions. We set out to make an album that represented the changes happening in our minds, our hearts and in our lives”. - Various Small Flames

hen in Brooklyn, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Jeffrey Silverstein and Justin Giles-Wilcox— who together are the band Nassau. They played A Song A Day’s first show last year after the release of their first EP, Hoss. Not only are they one of the first bands I’ve ever booked, they’re the first I ever interviewed. Honestly, I couldn’t have asked for a more gracious set of people to share both of those first-time experiences with.
We met at El Cortez before their show at Throne Watches in Bushwick to kick off a short east coast tour. We set out to chat about their new album, Heron released on Fire Talk Records this Friday, September 8th and their journey as a band. However, we found ourselves diving deep into the future of the music industry, streaming, balancing creative projects, and more.
I hate myself for using these words but listening to Heron feels like listening to the seasons change. If you listened to Hoss, you won’t be shocked but you’ll definitely pick up on the more nuanced sense of heart, soul, and intention that went into this record. Not to say Hoss was lacking in any of those elements, but you can hear how the relationship has evolved.
There were times I was listening to it while working and forgot what I was listening, zoning out per usual— then a song like “Champagne” would come on and I thought “ooo what’s this?”. I think we’ve only skimmed the surface with Nassau and I can’t wait to watch their story unfold.
Check out the full interview below and pick up your copy of Heron here. - A Song A Day

Nassau has quickly become one of our favorite local bands to come onto the scene in recent years. The perfectly balanced duo that is Jeffrey Silverstein and Justin Wilcox have truly taken flight…just like a heron.

Following their stunning EP “Hoss“, “Heron” is an 8-track emotional journey that transports listeners to a different, happier point in time. The debut album isn’t just a follow up, but rather a re-introduction to the undeniable chemistry of their effortlessly constructed indie-folk sound.

Jeffrey and Justin took some time to talk to C+S about the album, this city, and “mental vacation” Nassau is giving us. “Heron” is available now via Fire Talk Records. - Cereal and Sounds

Hometown: Brooklyn, New York

Genre: Indie Rock

Why We're Excited: Nassau's songs drift along with moody grace, propelled by clean, fluid guitar lines and an overarching vibe of calm contentment. But listen closely to "Whatever Brings You Peace of Mind," and you'll hear a note of melancholy and unrequited want — a bittersweet mix that haunts as it soothes. Fans of Noah and the Whale's The First Days of Spring, take note.

SXSW Schedule:

March 16: 18th Over Austin (500 N. Interstate 35 Frontage Rd) - NPR