Review
Nopes
Djörk

Nopes play that brand of melodic noise rock that pummels its listener in the face. It’s aggressive and abrasive, with big riffs, lots of feedback and barked vocals. The aggression sets the tone, but the nuance underneath the noise is what sets it apart from influences like The Jesus Lizard or Am Rep, with a base of Hot Snakes.

While noise may be my chosen descriptor, rock is the dominant word here. While it’s rough and burly, it also shreds, whether that means well-timed licks (as in “Under the Leather”) or more groove-focused burners like in “Smile Room” or “Reprieve.” It’s high energy and generally self-propelling without getting too cute or caught up in the moment. It draws a balance between straight-up rock ‘n’ roll with a touch of artier noise, but it’s for the short-attention spanned among us. The rhythm section are the heroes: setting a pounding foundation for where guitar marries melody and punch. Meanwhile, the vocals are harsh but fitting, balancing a little bit of rhythmic swagger with more animalistic shouts and yelps, even some speak-sing in “Drink the Cat,” which slows the pace to a sludgy, “is this the right RPM” feel that they pull off well, providing a much needed adrenaline break in the middle of the record. One of the reasons this album succeeds is the production, which captures live energy and imprecise, almost crackly tones underneath the instrumentation. It adds to that chaos without being distracting.

While I can draw the lineage from the 1990s and 2000s, this is definitely of the now. While the songs are heavy and brutal, there’s a sense that, at the end of things, it’s also just a group of people having fun and blowing off some steam. It’s noisy punk ‘n’ roll, with nods to metal, punk, grunge, post-hardcore and, um, I’m not sure what’s going on in “Hihg,” but I can dig it. It sounds like they got really high and wrote a song to capture the mindset that would inspire such a misspelling. I expected a bit of silliness, given the naming conventions but, while the lyrics carry a lot of that, it’s confined to the lyric sheet. Musically, it’s spastic and forceful, contained but on the verge of chaos.