In theory, Watford’s None The Less aren’t the most original of acts. They sing, they scream, they play big beefy chug-along guitar riffs; they fall under that loosely-defined metalcore/post-hardcore umbrella and you’d almost be forgiven for dismissing them on that basis alone.
However, give The Way To Save Ourselves a couple of listens, and you’ll find yourself pleasantly surprised. “The Payout’ kicks things off with a truly banging Bullet For My Valentine-esque riff, building up to a towering chorus, while ‘Define’ has shades of Saosin bubbling under its surface. It’s not ground-breaking, but at the same time, it’s an interesting and original enough release to make None the Less sound very, very relevant.
Here’s the thing: this band sound intelligent, they sound like they’ve thought this whole thing through. All the tracks here are well structured and vitally, they all sound like there’s a point to them. ‘I Had The World Resting On Me’ grows to a blistering, climax, and soaks up eerily-layered vocals along the way, while ‘I’ll Feel Like Your Enemy’ has a real rock ‘n roll edge to it, that brings a definite British-ness to the equation, something so many of this band’s peers are so adament to do. Above it all though, there’s a real sense here that it’s all come naturally to this Watford five-piece – it doesn’t feel at all forced.
It’s all too easy for a band to throw down some heavy riffs, dress them up with double-bass drum beats and a scream/shout vocal dynamic, and pass it off as something special. Fortunately, None The Less do things better than most and crucially, they sound fresh, they don’t sound even a little outdated. In 2009, that’s incredibly important, and a quality that will see them out-live, out-play and hopefully out-sell the scores of wannabes they’re up against.
Andy R