a r t i s t : Nothing People
t i t l e : Soft Crash
d a t e : 2010
l a b e l : S-S Records
c a t : SS047
s o u r c e : Vinyl
g e n r e : Indie/Rock
r l s. d a t e : Mar/2010
t r a c k s : 12
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 56,6 MB
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Best band you never heard.
Northern California's Nothing People seem intent on keeping
the lowest of profiles, with little information, even member
names, sneaking its way out. Their first album, 2008's
Chrome-inspired Anonymous, even declared their strategy via
its title. With their third album in as many years, though,
they may not be able to hold onto their anonymity for much
longer.
On Soft Crash, the group makes a slight directional change
from last year's sophomore LP, Late Night. Their sound remains
defiantly low-fi, but not in the currently fashionable mode of
burying pop songs in fuzz. Nothing People's fidelity is
actually more distant than low, with dark reverb and tape
echoes imparting a cellar ambience, as if the band were
playing in an abandoned bunker.
This is not to say that the details are lost. Compared to the
slower pacing of the aptly-named Late Night, these songs spill
over with energy, as if Nothing People revisited their debut
album and their post-punk collections. Exhuming Chrome's buzz,
they reimagine Joy Division and Birthday Party as space rock
bands. "Is This What You Want" starts things with a driving,
motorik rhythm obscured by churning guitars and freaked-out
synths, all underneath chanted vocals from the Ian Curtis
school. This is space rock as it should be updated -- twisted,
yet propulsive. "Remember How Cold It Was (Part 1)" is an
ideal Exhibit B, a mechanical beat and repetitive riff filled
with crazed vocals and swirling analog delays, spaced out and
unstoppable. The flailing, distorted lead guitar splatters
everything until the song crashes to a sudden halt.
It's the kosmiche buzz amidst gloomy atmospheres that really
lends the album a unique flavor. Every sound is buried in
reverberation and delay, whether it's a booming bass drum, the
tick of a distorted snare, the tock of a pulsing bass, or the
smears of guitar. At times, these songs reach MBV levels of
churn. The industrial charm of "Wasting Our Time" is
reminiscent of unsung pioneers like Factrix and Circle X,
while elsewhere the band shows it can write a mean pop tune --
albeit one welcomely drenched in grime.
A terrific blend of power and ambience, Soft Crash is a strong
album that -- despite the above comparisons -- lies just
beyond most easy landmarks. Each song hits a wide variety of
touchpoints and times, such that the album feels like it could
have been made 30 years ago. In that sense, it's somewhat out
of time.
It's early in the year, but I'll be very surprised at the end
of it if Soft Crash isn't near the top of my most-played
albums of 2010.
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01-Is This What You Want [02:05]
02-Wasting Our Time [03:03]
03-Marilyn's Grave [03:22]
04-Explode a View [02:32]
05-Soft Crash [04:52]
06-Avoiding Needles [03:45]
07-It's Been a Bad Day [02:47]
08-Friend or Foe [02:49]
09-In the House [03:18]
10-Satellite Not Found [03:04]
11-Remember How Cold It Was (Part 1) [03:56]
12-Since You've Been Gone [03:33]
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39:06 min