NOTS - We Are Nots

These southern-fried (Memphis) punks have been rattling around in various bands for a few years now and, nihilism aside, they do manage to score points on the I-don’t-give-a-fuck-what-we-sound-like punk-o-meter. Heavenly has reissued their Goner album for the UK and Euro market and has tossed in their latest single (an actual, honest-to-goodness 7in 45rpm that wasn't included in our review copy) to boot.

Opening with the throbbing, keyboard-driven ‘Insect Eyes’ and shouting monotonic lyrics at the top of their lungs, I can almost feel the gobsmackers stage diving and slamdancing “all the way from Memphis”. Titles like ‘Decadence’, ‘Strange Rage’, and ‘Black Mold’ suggest the angst-ridden hyperactive, headache-inducing noise that slithers around inside these grooves.

           ‘Reactor’ actually scores bonus points for musically re-enacting a nuclear meltdown, China Syndrome-style, and they have lots of fun playing with the knobs and sequencers on their keyboards on a couple of tracks, but if you’re going to try to convince us to all ‘Get Along’ by yelling and screaming a load of piffle at us for 49 seconds, why bother? The album’s less than half an hour as it is and energies could’ve been put to better use to try to flesh out some of the other numbers and make them somewhat palatable.

           For fans of minimalist shreikers like Lizzy Mercier-Descloux, The Raincoats, The Slits, The Plasmatics, Lydia Lunch and her Teenaged Jerks, and other No Wavers of that ilk. Otherwise, have plenty of aspirin on hand and proceed cautiously.