Emotive and swathed in haunting lyrics of heartbreak and loneliness, Second Hand, the sophomore release from the Athens-based Night on Earth, mesmerizes. Sofia Sarri’s voice could slice glass, operatic and delicate, as she sings in Greek and English. “Glosses tou Kampou,” which translates to “languages of the field,” is an achingly beautiful opener and primer of what’s to come. “Lafira” winds into downtempo territory, and some decidedly disturbed lyrics emerge through the feedback on “Crocus”: “I felt my body freeze but my mind was burning/A nightingale’s lullaby echoing in my ears/Three flowers exploded/Exploded through my eyes/The violet one was silenced/The white one kept screaming.” With Greek folk singer extraordinaire Thanassis Papakonstantinou collaborating and producing the album, Night on Earth’s jazz-meets-noir sound is layered with sounds of traditional Greek folk and post-rock jams. Far from conventional, the band grew out of a “post-music sound-terrorist collective,” Paracroussis, and its artsy essence is apparent on the record and in the short films typically shown during performances. Closing track “Vesper” crackles like an old record, a 15-minute oeuvre reminding listeners of a time when art was for art’s sake.

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