Gentle, distorted and longing. 

For Kamila Glowacki of Nectar, these three words describe “No Shadow,” the band’s latest album that was released on Friday. 

Nectar — an indie-punk band from Champaign-Urbana — is composed of singer-songwriter Glowacki, who also plays the guitar, along with drummer Jake Mott, bassist Isabel Skidmore and guitarist Aaron Shults.

Nectar began recording “No Shadow” in February 2020. Although the band finished recording it in February 2021, it announced the album’s release in late March 2022. Altogether, “No Shadow” took one year to record and more than a year to officially release. 

Glowacki said the album feels like a culmination of her best efforts as a songwriter, musician and visual artist. She explained how “No Shadow” feels more intentional than the band’s last album, “Knocking at the Door,” because of the March 2020 lockdown that happened during the early days of the recording process. 

“Suddenly, I had several months to work on lyrics,” Glowacki said. “It definitely allowed me to be more intentional once I was able to get back into the recording process because I had so much more time to sit with it.”

Most of Nectar’s experimentation occurred during the recording process of “No Shadow,” she said. Producer Andrew Rodriguez gave insight during the recording process, encouraging the band to explore different avenues within its music. 

“This is the first time we had a co-producer,” Glowacki said. “It was fun to have input from another person that’s outside of the band but is a fan of the band and knows us well. I feel like that really helped us grow, and in a way, pushed us outside of what we usually stick to.”

Nectar has also released a few music videos to accompany “No Shadow.” So far, the band has created videos for three songs on the album: “Routine,” “Ponytail” and “Scab.” 

Glowacki said the music videos let Nectar be creative and express its music in a visual format. She explained that the videos are another opportunity to curate the experience that people have while listening to the songs, but she tries to keep Nectar’s music videos uncomplicated. 

“I don’t want (the music video) to distract from the song,” Glowacki said. “I want the song to be the focus and the video to just complement the song and help set the tone for what the intention of the song is.”

Although she doesn’t currently have any plans for new music videos, Glowacki said she’s open to the idea of creating more. So far, she has either directed or co-directed each of Nectar’s music videos, saying she has a “pretty heavy hand” in the creative process. 

Out of the album’s 10 songs, Glowacki said “Ponytail” is the most meaningful to her and her bandmates. She explained how “Ponytail” is an avenue for the band to feel and release certain emotions. 

“Because it’s coming from a really sincere, vulnerable place and deals with family and uncertainty and stuff, it definitely feels very personal to me,” she said. “I think because of that, other people are able to find some kind of connection to it, as well.”

The band released “Ponytail” on March 29 to announce the release date of “No Shadow,” which Glowacki said was a strategic move to ensure that the song “got the attention” that it deserves. 

Glowacki said the tune is indicative of her personal growth as a songwriter and that it illuminates Nectar in a different light than some of the band’s other tunes. Despite how difficult it was to decide how to structure the song, she said “Ponytail” is a product of Nectar’s love and hard work. 

As she reflects on “No Shadow,” Glowacki said she wouldn’t change anything about the album. 

“I spent so much time thinking about all the choices we were making and listening to so many different versions of the mixes and things like that,” she said. “I know I put in all the work that I could have, so I feel really good about it.”

Looking to the future, Glowacki said she’d like to explore Nectar’s softer and more gentle side. Although she’s still fond of Nectar’s classic style of using distorted ’90s-inspired riffs and power chords, she said she’d like to experiment with stripping down that style.

“I feel like people know us mostly for (our distorted ’90s style), so I am still writing stuff like that, but there’s a part of me that’s curious about a more pared-down version,” she said. 

On May 20, the band will perform at Exile on Main Street in Champaign to celebrate the release of “No Shadow.” The suggested donation is $5. 

[email protected]