Photo credit: Nathan Grimes
Vacation Manor has always written from a personal place, but this new EP goes deeper. Back To Town is out today on Nettwerk, and it marks a turning point—both in life and in their catalog. After ten years together, a headline tour, and a few major life shifts like marriage and fatherhood, Nathan Towles and Cole Young pulled together six tracks that feel like a composite snapshot of where they’ve been and where they’re going.
The project was self-produced over two years, and it shows. There’s a patience to it. Nothing’s rushed. Everything feels considered, not in a labored-over way, but in the way that songs do when they’ve lived with you for a while before making it onto tape. From the layered shimmer of “You, In The Afternoon” to the fragile resolve of “When It’s All Over,” this EP doesn’t try to make a loud statement—it’s focused on clarity.
[embed]https://youtube.com/watch?v=1pW7xZV_oDk&si=s-zDcHAp_zjChb7J[/embed]A Clean Reset That Still Sounds Like Them
The title track is a standout in terms of tone-setting. “Back To Town” doesn’t overreach—it lays in the pocket and lets the lyrics guide the mood. It feels like returning to something familiar but not unchanged. “Damage Is Done” builds on that, pulling influence from The Cure and Brandon Flowers but without leaning into nostalgia. The instrumentation is clean, direct, and often deceptively simple.
There’s also “Casio Cure,” which arrived with a tour-filmed music video that captures exactly what the track is trying to say. It’s rooted in that weird, blurry space of teenage potential—the part where you feel lost but wide open at the same time. The footage is low-key but intentional: van rides, green rooms, stages, and sidewalks. It’s not dressed up. That honesty is part of why it works.
Ten Years In, Still Writing From Inside The Moment
Nathan described the EP as a process of reconciling the past, living in the present, and holding on to optimism for what’s ahead. That’s a fair read. There’s no bravado here—Back To Town feels more like a letter to yourself than a statement to anyone else. That perspective shift is subtle, but it shows up in the songwriting choices and pacing across all six tracks.
Vacation Manor’s catalog has always leaned on emotional clarity and subtle arrangements, but this project feels like it lands closer to the core. There’s no push for a single, no attempt to scale things up for the algorithm. It’s closer to a diary entry with chord changes. And sometimes, that’s exactly what hits hardest.
Listen to Back To Town now via Nettwerk. Watch the “Casio Cure” video out today.
The post Vacation Manor Reflects On A Decade With ‘Back To Town’ EP appeared first on Magnetic Magazine.