| Nice Day EP | |
| Type: | EP |
| Artist: | His Name Is Alive |
| Cover: | HNIA NiceDay-1997.jpg |
| Released: | October 27, 1997 |
| Recorded: | 1996 |
| Genre: | Experimental rock |
| Length: | 14:22 |
| Label: | 4AD (JAD 7009) |
| Producer: | His Name Is Alive |
| Prev Title: | Stars on ESP |
| Prev Year: | 1996 |
| Next Title: | Ft. Lake |
| Next Year: | 1998 |
Nice Day is an EP by His Name Is Alive, released by 4AD in the UK in 1997.[1]
After the completion of the tour for Stars on ESP, His Name Is Alive leader Warren Defever found himself with a steady lineup for perhaps the first time in the band's history; veteran vocalist Karin Oliver and drummer Trey Many, along with newer members: vocalist Lovetta Pippen and bassist Chad Gilchrist, along with Defever himself on guitar, and newer vocalist Erika Hoffman (who sings on four of the six tracks). As a result, Defever was anxious to make a new recording and quickly recorded the tracks for this EP in late 1996. It would be almost a year later, in October 1997, before it was released. Apparently this irked Defever somewhat, as the booklet for the 1999 compilation Always Stay Sweet features a copy of a fax that Defever sent to 4AD urging them to hurry up and release the EP.
While originally intended as a mail-order only release of 1,000 copies, the CD EP was soon re-pressed and sold in stores. The tracks were also appended to a reissue of Stars on ESP in 1998.
"Soul Resides in the Horse Barn" is a re-recording of an early His Name Is Alive song, which originally appeared on the King of Sweet compilation.
Nice Day furthers the motifs of Stars on ESP--classic AM radio pop and Michigan in the late 1960s and early 1970s, but takes a more rock-oriented approach. The sound could be described as a mix between Motown and the grittier side of that era in Detroit: the protopunk sounds of The Stooges and the MC5. The Motown influence comes via the increased presence of Pippen, an experienced soul and gospel singer.