When you cite The Descendents, Dag Nasty and Lifetime amongst your influences, you just need a strong dose of quality musicianship and you’re at least halfway towards getting a high score in the credibility stakes.
On the evidence of Canyoneer, No Trigger is well beyond halfway up the scale in every department. Bursting at the seams with beautifully pitched aggressive lead vocals layered on top of the welcome addition of gang “Woahs!”, you’re on an open level with this CD from the start. But that level is never motionless. The vocals are a journey in themselves: you’re taken on a ride from standard punk rock to melodic hardcore via a few whistle-stops at Anthem Street and Fingers-In-The-Airsville. Yet No Trigger avoid becoming a cliché of insular punk rock circles by whacking it out with a degree of aggressive catchiness that few seem to manage.
Guitars are equally impressive; the first time I hit three-quarters of the way through ‘Bust Tropical’ I indeed did bust a tropical around my room and then continued around most of the house, to be honest. Similarly the mini solos of ‘Hail Mary Leaky’ just physically will not fail to put a smile on your face. Stylistically the guitars are latter-day Social Distortion meets the catchiness of the few decent Anti-Flag songs, except they’re a whole lot meatier and, well, just better. ‘More To Offer’ has been stuck in my head for the past two weeks. “Listen to the sound of the underground as it calls out your name” has been pinging from ear to ear every day and I’m still not bored of it. Two thirds of the way through ‘My Woods’ is another high point, for it reminds me of the Death By Stereo song which chants “Death For Life!” repeatedly during a breakdown. Even the exceptionally long low-fi outro to ‘The Honshu Underground’ is poignant and fitting. It might not cater to all tastes, but strike a big tick in the column for variety.
Building on the success of their EP, this album excels it in all departments. If you were being ultra critical you could claim that there’s perhaps not as much vocal variation as there might have been, but I love them so damn much that I can’t cite it as a criticism. Additionally, ‘You Said It’ is too short to gain any real points but it quickly passes you by. Fans of any decent melodic hardcore/punk rock in the vein of any band mentioned, or the likes of Strike Anywhere should either already have this or quickly bump it to the top of their ‘to buy’ list. Essential.
www.notrigger.org
www.myspace.com/notrigger
Nitro Records
Spud