Regaining Consciousness,
No RoutineI could pretty much be writing this review for any one of 100 bands to be honest. No Routine is yet another band with an obvious talent playing bland and uninspiring, soulless twaddle. It’s like pissing a perfectly healthy career down the khazi. I’m not sure why bands continue to rip-off other acts, especially when they do it in such a half-hearted way. No Routine is a quintet from Ipswich and to be fair they are pretty young guys with an average age of 18. They can all technically play pretty damn well, have a solid singer and the drum patterns are well performed too. However, there are a few things seriously wrong.
The production on this record is pretty poor. I know it’s a demo and fair play to them for that, but it’s far too quiet. I had to turn my stereo up very, very loud indeed to make this CD audible and that’s disappointing for a reasonably ‘heavy’ band. Ironically, the lack of noise actually sets the tone for this record. There’s no doubting No Routine’s musical ability, but they play their songs without any kind of energy or passion. There’s a lack of feeling and for an emo band, there’s a startling lack of emotion. The screaming is cold, there’s no depth or feeling. If you’re going to scream in a band, bellow your fucking guts out. Make the listener feel your pain. Too many bands just shout in the background for effect and No Routine fall into that category.
It means songs like ‘Never Told A Lie’ are seriously affected, not by the structure or the way the song is written, but in the way it is performed. Maybe in a live arena No Routine throw the kitchen sink at their music, but on the basis of ‘Regaining Consciousness’ the words ‘gutless’ and ‘bland’ spring to mind. I want music of this type to bite me on the bollocks or make my hair stand on end – this just makes me want to use it as a drinks coaster. Chalk it up to inexperience, but being half a band will only ever gain you half the marks. If NR can really mean what they do, they could well be worth keeping an eye on in the future.
www.noroutine.tk
Paul
