Quiet. Loud. Quiet. It’s a simple recipe, a recipe that has worked for countless bands including the Pixies and Nirvana. It also works for Philadelphia noise-fuzz-pop quartet Nothing. Formed in 2011, the band was recently signed to Relapse records, and this month will see the release of their debut full length, Guilty of Everything. It’s rare when you’re on board for something special right as it takes off.
Emotions are easy in music. Play hard enough, and with enough rage, you can make everyone angry. Drown your music in shallow melancholy, and everyone is sad. It is harder to bring about joy, or to go for despondent introspection as opposed to easy self-pity. Nothing is trying to communicate these more difficult emotions in what they do. They manage this by evoking memories of bands and genres past, but still anchoring themselves to a sound that is wholly unique. Most of that is due to Domenic Palmero, whose voice is ridiculously good.
“Dig” takes another turn, choosing to ride a dreamy, but constant, swirl of fuzzy guitars. There is a haunting darkness to “Dig”, a despondent poetry that is incredibly effective. “Bent Nail” is a mid-tempo, indie pop dream. Imagine My Bloody Valentine covering Sebadoh songs. It has a groove, but one that calls into mind young, hip lovers enjoying a day of exploring. When the song slows to a crawl, it’s suddenly a dark noise dream. Lucy In The Sky With A Pedal Box. “Endlessly” moves into Slint territory, drawing on layered guitar textures, and barely audible vocals to give it an air of creepiness.
Nothing is a pop band. Don’t let the fuzzy guitars fool you. There is a much Smiths era Johnny Marr songwriting happening in this album as there is Jesu style distortion. Palmero’s voice keeps things in this state of other worldly existence. At the risk of shattering the Pretentious Meter, Guilty of Everything is like the soundtrack of a particularly fevered dream. One perhaps enhanced by better living through chemistry.
The fuzz is part of that dream, as is the epically sweet production by Jeff Zeigler (War On Drugs, Kurt Vile), but all of it is held together by Palmero’s voice, and the way he layers his vocals with the backing vocals. It’s a gorgeous union, one that brings about all the emotions in the spectrum, not just one or two. Guilty of Everything is a drug album, a psychedelic album, a pop album, an indie rock album and a noise record. Nothing has an ability to act as the junction box of all those sounds, which is what makes this debut so powerful.
