WestWalk Records, CD, digital, vinyl
You know those year-end best-of lists music writers are required to churn out each November? Failure to do so gets you moved to the ballet beat, which, as Timothée Chalamet points out, is a cultural wasteland.
Editors like the lists because they attract views, but writers can be ambivalent. Most of us do want everyone to see how piercingly superior our tastes are, but there are also queasy tides of self-doubt when we realize some cooler journalist has out-hipstered us again.
“Fuck! I didn’t realize Stephen Malkmus had a spoken-word album of nature poems!” Or “Wait! Horsegirl rerecorded Van Halen II?”
Sometimes, though, the posing and pontification fade away, and all that’s left is a simple truth like this one: It’s only May, but you can jot it down now with indelible ink that Day or Night, the new 12-song album by Burlington’s Dwight + Nicole, is gonna be near the top of a lot of 2026 lists.
As one of the state’s most dominant acts for more than a decade, Nicole Nelson and Dwight Ritcher put the organic back in (musical) chemistry. Their distinctive songs and performances blend timeless soul and thoughtful pop, erudite “Dear Diary” lyrics and iridescent melodies. While they very much have their own DNA, there are impressive reminders of Donny Hathaway and Roberta Flack, Christine McVie and Bob Welch, and even a flashbulb pop or two of Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga.
Nelson, with her octave-spanning range and liquid-gold tone, is a veteran of Season 3 of “The Voice” and exhibits all the performance qualities one could ask for in a contemporary powerhouse. Ritcher, a fine guitarist and the principal songwriter, counters with a deceptively low-key vocal approach that lulls with its campfire warmth. There’s not a weak cut on the album.
“One Morning” was inspired by a dream Nelson had about the end of the world. Good thing the album came out before we were all atomized, because this wistful meditation offers a hooky church-organ chorus and glorious hymnic textures.
“Beautiful” applies searingly mournful Jeff Beck-style guitar lines to Ritcher’s soft-rain meditations, and “Wasting All My Time” is the effortlessly perfect pop lagniappe Neil Finn forgot to write.
“Silver Rocket” is Nelson’s ever-ascending exercise in melodic seduction. Underscored by a serpentine single-note guitar figure, the song delivers the sort of surprises one might expect if a Hollywood special effects unit brought timed pyrotechnics to the studio.
There are two covers: Nelson sounds playful on synth-poppist Vince Clarke’s lovely “Only You,” but you can’t miss the plaintive quality underpinning her efforts. And on Jenny Lewis’ “Melt Your Heart,” Nelson’s delivery almost makes romantic resignation something to strive for.
With each repeated listening of Day or Night, I have a new favorite song. As I type this, “Straight Back to You,” with its tricky descending chord variations and swelling strings, is on repeat.
Masterfully produced by Nelson, Ritcher and compatriot Joel Hamilton, and boasting fine work from bandmates Leon Campos (keys) and Ezra Oklan (drums), as well as guest contributions from Jon Solo (keys) and Ali McGuirk (vocals), Day or Night takes the pressure off my year-end list responsibilities.
The album is available on major streaming services. Visit dwightandnicole.com for upcoming shows.
This article appears in May 6 • 2026.
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