Top Sounds - N
NAUSEA - Punk Terrorist Anthology Vol I {Alternative Tentacles/ Blacknoise} Hulking, bulking 22 track compilation of this Crust band’s recordings culled from the 1988 to 1991 period. It’s classic stuff, quite different for a New York HC band of the time. NAUSEA took more from CRASS and DISCHARGE than AGNOSTIC FRONT or CRUMBSUCKERS. Lyrically, NAUSEA presented a socially conscious Anarcho style that NYHC hadn’t really seen before, fusing their own brand of male/ female dual-vocalled HC with traits of Metal to deliver the archetypal US Crust sound. This collects virtually all of the classic ‘Extinction’ album from ‘90 plus the ‘Lie Cycle’ and ‘Cybergod’ releases. There’s a fantastic DISCHARGE cover also. To round it all off, there’s a video capturing a brutal performance of ‘Cybergod’. This is quite essential gear, documenting not only a development in USHC Punk but also the best recordings of the definitive band of the genre. Awesome.
NAUSEA - Punk Terrorist Anthology Vol II: ‘85-‘88 {Alternative Tentacles/ Blacknoise} Follow up disc from the above, collecting lots of early unreleased recordings, demos and rarities. It’s a great accompaniment piece to the above disc featuring early versions of tracks such as ‘Godless’, ‘Sacrifice’, ‘Clutches’ and ‘Right To Live’ among others. There are covers of tracks by OMEGA TRIBE, a blazing take on ‘Religious Wars’ by THE SUBHUMANS and, oddly THE BUSINESS. Also included is video footage of ‘Fallout (Of Our Being)’ which switches between live performance, war footage and crowds of Punx thrashing wildly. Sleeve notes are much better than on the disc above too; from virtually none bar lyrics on Vol. I, this features original recording dates and venues and proposed release plans. More a disc for fans-only than Vol.I but probably the more interesting from a historical point of view. Just get the pair...
NEFARIOUS - White Trash 2000 {Demon Nation} This was actually released a few years ago and members have now moved onto Horror-Punks HORROR STORY. The disc itself is a 70-min, 23-track whopper. Snag is, it's all a bit too slow and ploddy for me; a bit too much like an old '77 UK band mixed with a big helping of CRAMPS-esque Garage Rock. It has its moments though - noteably opener 'Dog Bite' + 'Too Far Gone' and 'Demonica III' - that are all raging MOTORHEAD meets latter day BLACK FLAG while having an intravenous supply of ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT style rock 'n' roll. Those tracks, combined with the likes of the damning indictment of a police state that is 'Pig Song', could have made for a belter of a 12-tracker. As it is, too much filler.
NEGATIVE SAINTS - Demo EP {Rat Town} Noxious sounding 5-track demo EP from this Yank band. They certainly seem to embody the legacy of the greatest Punk kings of all, THE DEAD BOYS; some of the lead work is fit for Cheetah in his prime! If you infuse that sound with the primal, guttural Garage Punk of NEW BOMB TURKS and the USHC blast of ‘Group Sex’-era CIRCLE JERKS, you’ll be within spitting distance of NEGATIVE SAINTS. ‘Dropping Gears’ carries a weighty belligerence - in fact the vocals have a snotty attitude throughout and it’s mightily effective - while ‘No Luck At All’ sees the pace quicken for 90 seconds of riff-drenched, attitude-laced embittered HC. To finish, you get a blazing take on GANG GREEN’s ‘Alcohol’. Sure, it isn’t anything new, but when it’s done with this kinda conviction and attitude, it gets no better - Punk Fucking Rock!
NEVERTHEMORE - s/t {Engineer} This would fit pretty neatly on Deep Elm Recs. NTM is a band that could slide, with a decided ambiguity, onto any of that label’s ‘Emo Diaries’ comps and pick up a few fans in the process. This is the band’s debut album, two years in the making, and features eight tracks that are just too damn melancholic for these ears. It’s not bad (although the acoustic vibe of ‘Stick Around’ gets close); if you like the whimsical grandeur of ELLIOTT mixed with the tense, taut quality of BRAID you’re onto a winner. It gets rather self-indulgent in parts too as the 8-minute ‘All Too Real’ proves – what the hell is going on at the end is beyond me. When the band does riff it up a little, as on opener ‘Tie Me In The Van’ and ‘Before You Breathe’ show, the band displays a similarity to RYDELL and certainly prove more interesting than on those dull experimental tracks.
NEW YORK REL-X - Sold Out Of Love {Dirty Faces/TKO} Surprisingly on-the-ball album from this NYC 4-piece. When I saw the band (albeit over 2 years ago), it was a slap-dash affair and one I certainly did not want to repeat. This 11-track disc though really entertained. Vocalist Erika has a very clear voice, bringing to mind VICE SQUAD's 'Stand Strong' era with a hint of PENETRATION's Pauline Murray. The band is snappy, cohesive and energetic which fits in real will with the rest of TKO's roster. Lyrically, the band eschew politics in favour of personal subject matter with 'No More Tears' being a definite highlight. Best track has to be 'It's All Wasted' that brought in a dual female/male vocal, similar to that of X. Neat GIRLSCHOOL cover too. A good strident release and one that certainly knocks spots of the goddamn DONNAS and SNAP-HER.
NO CHOICE/ FIFTH HOUR HERO - Split {Newest Industry} Fuck, a real quality package here including pink vinyl, a lyric insert and album-style sleeve design complete with spine print! How many 7"s do you see with packaging like that? What's more, the music is even better! First up are a couple of belters from Welsh band NO CHOICE that continue where the band's album left while developing in sound. There's a great sparseness to these tracks, bringing to mind FUGAZI in parts if mixed with SLF and second-album PARTISANS. Seriously angry and informed lyrics prove the band is still as embittered as before. F.H.H. is a Canadian band that plays a fantastic discordant Pop deal, full of insightful lyrics and splintering shards of guitar. The band has a couple of albums out on No Idea - albums I'll be checking out very soon. Two really well matched bands that compliment each other and have enough differences to be distinctive. A pretty essential release.
NOFX - They’ve Actually Gotten Worse Live! {Fat Wreck} Yeah right - who are they trying to kid? Love or hate ‘em, you all know NOFX. It’s been 12 years since the last live disc and what you got here is very much ‘for fans only’. There are 24 tracks of new versions, acoustic songs Punked up, 7” tunes and alternative versions with different lyrics. There’s a heap of verbalage between tunes too that’s 90% hilarious and 10% scathing. What it isn’t - much as the band may want you to believe - is a sound of a band that’s wasted. Check out ‘Franco’, ‘Longest Line’, ‘Lori Meyers’ (even with its fucked intro) and a razor-sharp ‘Green Corn’ to hear a band that’s tight, proficient and so fucking effective. Much as I enjoyed the disc, it’s not for casual or new fans. Get the other live album if that’s what you’re after. But for the FX-addicted, this is essential. AND - the red-haired Ronald MacDonald joke may have been rehearsed, but its delivery here is absolute magic!NOFX - Wolves In Wolves’ Clothing {Fat Wreck} Studio album #11?? Shit - surely the joke is wearing a bit thin? Well, no... Y’see, NOFX keeps all that made it massive and great (snotty vocals, hyper-tight playing, great harmonies, barbed humour, simply smokin’ Punk Rock) but update it with new twists - and this displays more of those twists than most other NOFX discs. You get acoustic guitars, a vague Irish influence here and there, dynamics of sound and the moderately newly acquired political conscience, which is actually intelligent and insightful for a band that has made its career out of being dumb and apolitical. There are many highlights: both versions of ‘60%’, ‘100 Times Fuckeder’ and personal fave ‘Leaving Jesusland’ (although the dismal 10 minutes plus of studio pissabouts at the end leaves a LOT to be desired) all deserve special mentons. Production is, as ever, crisp, loud and clear. Good as ‘War On Errorism’ was, this could be the band’s best since the mighty ‘Punk In Drublic’.
NO MORE FEAR - One Thing We’ll Share {Goodwill} Raging 4-track 7" of fast, tight, aggressive & invigorating Italian Hardcore. Thankfully, this is devoid of any Metal breakdowns, double bass drum beatings & death grunts! There is a SICK OF IT ALL feel coupled with a hint of SSD with the lead track & ‘Time To Give Back’ being disc highlights. The final track is an inspired & brutal take on New Order’s ‘How Does It Feel’. In today’s climate where the most blatant of Metal posturing seems to be able to class itself as HC, this comes as a welcome relief & reaffirms my love of genuine HC.
NO SUBSTANCE - …Teach The Kids To Hate {Milliepeed} The first of these 15 tracks (which fly by in a total of 25 mins - my kinda record!) is one of the most electrifying slices of UKHC I have heard in an age. The guitars carry so much weight and the production is raw - perfectly raw. Lyrically this trio says something too, tackling a wide range of subjects in an interesting and clever way. Comparisons have to be early SNUFF (as in up to the release of the classic debut album), incisive USHC and a British bluster that is analogous with GBH. If there is a negative, it’s the vocals. While the music has the ability to decapitate Medusa after giving her a haircut, a bit more attention to the vocals would be wise cuz, at times, they were a little weak. Tracks like ‘Coming Back’, ‘Gentle But Persuasive’, the 30-second blitz of ‘Wake Up’ and the closing embittered rage of ‘Take It Back’ all point to great things to come.
NOT OK - Ashtray Ways {Souls ‘n’ Bones} Debut album from this Auckland band and it’s 12 tracks of impressive catchy Punk Rock. Soundwise, this would fit really well beside some of Fat Wreck’s more recent releases by the likes of SMOKE OR FIRE, LOVED ONES and NONE MORE BLACK. It could do with a bit more bite as it occasionally comes over sounding like far-too-many wannabe Fat bands. That’s not aided by a bass heavy production that robs the guitars of some of their attack. There are plenty of highs though, be it the DC-esque ‘Dear Music’, closer ‘Green And Brown’ and album highlight ‘City Society’. The artwork is simply stunning which, along with the considered and accessible lyrics, prove these guys have put a shit load of thought and work into the record. There’s a blazing unlisted track too which seems more guitar-heavy than the rest of the album. A good debut, but I think the band’s next disc will be the one to look out for.
NO USE FOR A NAME - Keep Them Confused {Fat Wreck} That festering wart of complacency returns, packaged once again as the latest NUFAN album. 13 tracks of formulaic, tepid and clinical to the point of sterility Pop-Punk. There's little difference between this and the fake 'Punk' slop of Good Charlotte or even Busted! Polite, whiney vocals, guitars that are soooo smooth that not even the stickiest piece of snot would stick to them and just too much goddamn nice-boy rock. This is the band's 7th album. Surely time to swap your guitars for four electric chairs huh guys? Call me up and I'll flick the switch - and I'll smile as I do it. If this represents what Punk Rockers are willing to accept today, then Punk is in a very sorry state.