LOS ANGELES, CA- I’ve had my ear on Night Talks for quite a while now. Somehow, despite years of seeing their name pop up across the Los Angeles music scene, I’ve just never managed to catch them live. But after hearing their newest single “People Pleaser,” I think that finally needs to change.
From the moment the track opens with its simple percussive pulse before sliding into that sharp guitar lick alongside Soraya Sebghati’s vocals, I was immediately locked in. It’s one of those songs that sneaks into your body before your brain fully catches up. I found myself instinctively bopping along before the first chorus even hit.
And when Sebghati sings:
“you never really knew me / you never really cared,”
with her voice flaring upward at the end of the phrase, the whole thing just clicks emotionally.
There’s a dramatic melodic quality in her vocal delivery that genuinely gave me flashes of Kate Bush. Not because Night Talks sound like some retro throwback act trying to cosplay the ‘80s, but because it sounds like Sebghati understands how to inject emotional movement into a melody line the same way many of the great art-pop vocalists of that era did. There’s yearning in the phrasing. There’s tension in the way she lets certain notes bloom instead of resolving them cleanly.
And honestly, the more I sat with the song, the more the band’s influences started making sense.
Night Talks themselves cite artists like Fleetwood Mac, LCD Soundsystem, and Queens of the Stone Age as touchstones for their sound. (Night Talks) That combination is actually a pretty accurate roadmap for what makes “People Pleaser” work so well. You can hear the dance-floor groove mentality of LCD Soundsystem in the rhythmic backbone, while the sharper alt-rock textures nod toward Queens of the Stone Age. Meanwhile, the shimmering melodic sensibility floating over everything feels spiritually connected to the emotional openness of classic art-pop and new wave.
What I love most about “People Pleaser,” though, is the restraint. Modern indie-pop can sometimes feel overloaded, with everything compressed into oblivion. To my ears, Night Talks seems to do the opposite here. The production, handled by Eric Palmquist, leaves air inside the song. The instrumentation breathes. Even the electronic (keyboard) textures feel more percussive than decorative, giving the track movement without overcrowding it.
Lyrically, the song hits that sweet spot between personal and universal. Sebghati described the track as being about overcoming the instinct to constantly prioritize other people over yourself, while intentionally leaving the relationship dynamic vague enough that listeners could apply it to friendships or romantic relationships alike. That ambiguity gives the song extra weight. “People Pleaser” doesn’t feel locked into one specific heartbreak. It feels like the soundtrack to finally reclaiming your own identity after bending yourself into shapes for everyone else.
Lines like:
“Stand a little taller / Laugh a little louder”
don’t just read like self-help affirmations. Inside the groove of the song, they feel earned.
There’s also something cinematic this track. It feel less like a straightforward rock track and more like scene from some neon-lit coming-of-age film where heartbreak and liberation blur together under city lights.
And maybe that’s why “People Pleaser” sticks so hard. It isn’t trying too hard to announce itself as profound. It’s just a vibe in the purest sense of the word. A sleek, emotionally intelligent indie-pop track with enough groove to pull you onto the dance floor and enough emotional honesty to make you stay there.
After years of almost seeing Night Talks live, this might finally be the song that gets me through the door.
Follow Night Talks on Facebook, TikTok, X, and Instagram.
*********************
