I’ll firmly admit to having heard precisely nothing from either of these bands before this EP floated through my letterbox. Released on Vanity Rock records it provides four tracks from NOTA and three from Swound!
‘Safety Pins On Standby’ opens the EP for NOTA and is a treble-soaked track that is extremely guitar based, particularly with one riff that seems to crop up repeatedly throughout the verse sections. The lyrics are somewhat sparse but it’s a testament to the innovative nature of the band that they manage to make the song last for three and a half minutes without it sounding formulaic. It’s full of staccato drums and shitloads of feedback swirling round the main vocal line before dropping off into a number of quieter breakdowns. This song is most definitely a grower with the guitar work being kinda John Squire-esque in places, and contrasts quite powerfully with the next track which goes by the name of ‘The Green Belt’. It’s almost like a Hundred Reasons track with the chunky guitars before coming over all Iggy and The Stooges (a Good Thing). I particularly like the jazz drumming during the choruses as it changes tempo for a brief moment, showing a band with a wealth of ideas. It is technically impressive while it lasts and could be described as possessing a brooding power that lurks below the surface because the song always threatens to implode under the weight of the bitterness conveyed by the vocals.
Perversely enough the opening bassline to ‘Straight To The Point’ makes you want to wail “Express yourself!”, with all it’s funky stylings. This track is definitely musical break before a thundering chorus driven by the power of the guitar, drums and bass all departing from the light riffing of the verses to combine to violent effect. The pace change is welcome for the solo part towards the end of the song and the structure is quite unorthodox before returning once again to the solid chorus line. It’s an experimental track, with a definite funk leaning at times, then slipping seamlessly into more familiar heavy territory. No such danceability for the final track from NOTA, with the metallic ‘Take One For The Team‘ seeming quite like Slayer-lite; all galloping guitars and minor-key riffing. Just listening to it again makes me realise how NOTA keep trying new styles in their music and it grows on me every time I put the CD on. It almost strays into the space between metal and hardcore at times while never totally deserting the punk roots.
Swound! are up now, and they kick off their offerings with the faintly provocative ‘Kill America’. It’s certainly a more melodic break after NOTA, with the vocals being reminiscent of Brand New but the song never bursts into life like the intro suggests. The heavy chorus seems laboured and forced but a spark is injected into the song at the middle eight section before the refrain, which acts as a build up for the refrain.The central riff is very hummable but is swamped underneath the inadvisable screaming towards the end of the song which just tails off into mediocrity with the repetition of the title far too many times. A little more concise and this track could be a winner. The next track is very Shuriken in sound and goes by the name of ‘Winning Smile’, and it’s a classic punk rock song. Chugging power chords and scratchy vocals build tension before the chorus, which has a melody that just sits in your head for days. A vastly superior song to the previous one simply because of the simplicity of the approach. It doesn’t try to be pretentious or anything like that, it’s just an energetic and plaintive example of pure punk rock. ‘Lost In Space’ finishes the EP off with a distinctly MC5-sounding track that oozes sleaze. Trouble is, it seems to get a touch confused during the chorus as too much is competing for the listener’s attention and comes off as appearing messy and overcomplicated.
I think this EP does it’s job well by serving as an introduction to both bands, and NOTA do come off better because their tracks are more assured and competent/ Swound! seem to try too hard in places bu they show that when they concentrate on the basic aspects of their music they can be very impressive indeed.
Ben
www.n-o-t-a.com
www.swound.co.uk
www.vanityrock.com