Nope - Revision (Vinyl LP)

Got something in from some Leeds lads today. This time round it’s the turn of “neu-kraut” types Nope, featuring guitars from a Fucking Tank and drums from a Mucky Sailor and a Runner slash a Cowtown. These guys know what they’re doing, basically. Plus there’s a certain Hookworm (Matt J) twiddling the knobs and making sure that everything sounds ace. Oh, you know what else? There’s these awesome industrial-themed photocollage gatefold sleeves by Eoin Shea which don’t have any writing on at all so you can start circular conversations with it too. “What’s this record?” “Nope.” “No, really, what is it? It’s good.” “Nope.” “But what’s it called?!”

Anyway when we get onto the music here it’s a dual-drummer attack (‘Wizardbong’ panned hard left, ‘Skullbong’ hard right) with repeato guitars, swirling psychedelic synths, and space-echoed-to-oblivion vocal babbles. Of the bands mentioned in the press release, the ones it sounds the most like are Neu! and the Smashing Pumpkins.

There are points where the guitar tones and melodies are clearly sending a nod out to Billy Corgan (particularly in the '90s-style groover ‘Pentrich Rising’) and there’s comparable a density to the sound as well, but when it’s applied to this kind of repetitive rock style (not a million miles away from guitarist Andy 'Alebong' Abbott's power duo That Fucking Tank in places) it takes on a slightly shoegazey kraut feel which is really effective and not much like anything I’ve heard before. The hard-hitting doubled-up drums give it a kind of Melvinsy feel in places, especially the second half of ‘Todmorden’ (the first half has the same chords but on twinkly 12-string acoustic instead).

They get super heavy in places too. In ‘Behind the Skullbong’ there’s one of those weird eight grooves where it’s split into a five and a three instead of two fours for a super heavy drum riff and some abrasive minimal guitar shapes over the top. Giant closer 'Crooked Staff' is a total winner too, taking the repeato vibes of that last Cave record but with the grinding minimal tuff gnarl tones you'd expect from Gnod. Face melting shit, yo. Initial copies come on "strawberry swirl" vinyl that looks good enough to eat too. What you waiting for?