No Gimmick: Loss For Words EP
Categories: You Asked for It
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| No Gimmick |
Title: Loss For Words EP
Basics: I think I was getting far too cocky atop my YAFI perch. Here I was about to collect my two month chip for being pop punk sober. Thanks to power punk trio No Gimmick, I'm off the wagon yet again.
I give up -- it's a fact of YAFI life that pop punk/power punk/"punk" that was popular from 1996 to 2000 is going to come my way. What the hell is it about the state of Arizona that inspires bands to try and recreate Dude Ranch?
Best Song: I noticed on No Gimmick's Myspace page that they list Face To Face as an influence. That particular band is one of the few I actually enjoy after seeing them open for The Offspring in 1994. Guess what? No Gimmick was formed merely two years later. That explains a lot why the band sounds like those acts of almost two decades ago. "One of the Carried" sounds the most like Big Choice-era Face To Face, emitting a nice sense of nostalgia with its frantic guitars and gruff vocals.
Worst Song: "Never Mind Me" is an uptempo, "fuck you" punk song that is brimming with tons of energy. Unfortunately, the damn song is just too fast and all over the place to be enjoyable. There's a moment about 25 seconds into the song where the rapid-fire drums are met with some standard punk guitars -- yet the guitars are late and the song sounds rather out of sync, rendering it frenzied and unenjoyable.
Suggestions: It's good that the band is finally releasing their EP -- which has apparently been delayed for some time -- a week from Saturday. Hell, anyone attending that show at Chasers gets a free copy when they walk through the doors. Rewarding your fans like that definitely wins No Gimmick some style points.
I must point out, though, that I can tell the band tried to get their EP to register in Gracenote's database. When it popped up in iTunes, it registered as Pestaña, a five-song EP from Peruvian technopop duo Leonardo Bacteria & Diana Exorcism. Some of the track titles included "Me Gusta Los Dias Nublados Mas Que Los De Sol" and "Galeon Sin Rumbo." I must find this mysterious EP because I, too, like the cloudy days more than the sunny ones.
Grade: C-
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