Band Members:
Jonny Hawkins
- Lead Vocals, Aux Drums
Daniel Oliver
- Bass, Backup vox
Mark
Vollelunga - Guitar, Backup vox
Paul O’Brien –
Drums
Nothing
More – Self Titled Album
Track
List:
1.
Ocean Floor
2.
Ballast
3.
Christ Copywrite
4.
Mr. MTV
5.
First Punch
6.
Gyre
7.
The Matthew Effect
8.
I’ll Be Okay
9.
Here’s to the Heartache
10. If
I Were
11. Friendly
Fire
12. Sex
and Lies
13. Surfance
Flames
14. Take
a Bullet
15. Jenny
16. God
Went North
17. Pyre
I have been fortunate enough to
catch Nothing More before live and
they put on one amazing show. There is a lot of crowd interaction, stage
presence and most importantly; they sound the same live and they do recorded
(well, pretty close). I had the opportunity to review their latest Self-Titled
17 Track Album and was pretty impressed with it as a whole. There were
definitely songs that stuck out more than others but I would
recommend adding this to your album collection!
Ocean
Pride is a nice intro that comes at you with a
fierceness. However, it does get into a pretty killer groove that resembles the
Dub step sound; that is until the last 10 second or so where the rock finally
makes it appearance. Ballast leads right out of the intro and
comes in hard, swinging and with a very catch tune. It has a nice mix of genres
that fits my taste too! Vocal techniques are pretty cool and well done on this
track even when he goes into the growling/yelling part of it.
The next track, Christ Copywrite, caught my eye simply
because of the title but overall I wasn’t overly impressed with this jam. Some
of the electronic noises seemed overused and kind of sold the song short a bit.
I did love the chorus and the well written lyrics and the track is pretty good
if you can get past some unnecessary noises within the instrumental. The next
track up on the Nothing More album
was entitled Mr. MTV and I was
secretly hoping I would hear the slow “I want my MTV” tune somewhere in the
track. Within a few seconds I was given my request and I was on board for the
jam! The bass was definitely dominant more in this track than some others on the
album but I was digging it with the lyrics, this was the song I was hoping I
would hear with such a title. Very true and opinionated words are what
thousands of us are thinking and wish we could say as well.
First
Punch opens
up a lot like a Fall out Boy style
of song but once that first down beat comes right before the chorus, you’re in
the groove for the rest of the track. I was sold on this jam just 40 seconds in due to the simple instrumentals
with great timing, it allows this to be a song you feel when you are listening to it. I was driving when I first
listened to the album and Gyre meshed
so well with my emotions that day that is was the perfect driving tune. The
slow, acoustic beginning gets you in the mood for the added audio overlays and digital
blend too. No vocals on this track other than those audio overlays but you won’t
miss them much either. Such a Zen type track that I found myself hitting repeat
over and over and really became a favorite. The
Matthew Effect was right back to a similar beat and tempo you hear scattered
throughout the album but; the lyrics did keep me on board. “One day you’ll realize, your no Jesus Christ!” I think that is
something we’ve all wanted to say to someone at some time in our lives and the song pushes the
portrayal hard. I am definitely a fan of Nothing
More’s ability to write lyrics that are real life, easy to relate to and
unique for their sound. About 2:28 into this track vocalist, Johnny, hits a
killer note and made me produce a huge smile!
Another slow groove on the album
is I’ll Be Okay but while the tune
itself isn’t producing a real WOW factor, it is nice to hear a more vulnerable side
to the band with the slower jams. With this track, simple was definitely the
best choice. I really did enjoy this song once I got into it. Here’s to the Heartache is my favorite
track on the entire Nothing More
album! It has such an uplifting groove, great lyrics and the perfect amount of bass
for a ride around town. I wouldn’t say the song has something real unique or
different about it, but the emotion that the band is able to portray in such a
simple song is moving. You don’t stay in the chill mode very long though
because with If I Were, you are back
into the harder, electronic metal groove. While I am a big fan of Nothing More
, their sound and their well written lyrics; this track was just a bit too familiar
for me to enjoy. It was definitely the same kind of sound as quite a few tracks
on the album. It was a good track none the less, but by this point in the album
you definitely can pin point their sound.
Heading up Track #11 with Friendly Fire brought a really distinct
attitude opening up and by about 23 seconds in, you’re going to want to move
your entire body. This is a great example of a rock song you can groove and
dance too and it definitely has a similar sound to the early 2000’s Three Day’s Grace. The chorus was a bit
too repetitive for my person taste but I can see this being a great crowd
interaction song at live shows! I thought for sure the band had written a song
about my life when I saw the title Sex
and Lies so I actually listened to this track first. I am a huge fan of the
deep, heavy riffs and double bass on the kit, mixed with some eerily graced
vocals. Johnny has SUCH a range to his voice and it makes it fun to listen to.
Slapping bass resonated in my earphones and really pulled me into to focus more
on the instrumentals of the track.
I was definitely smiling once Surface Flames came on and delivered a
deep, kind of R&B beat in the beginning, and that really sold me.
While I wasn’t a fan of some of the electronic choices for these tracks, I do
love that it kept the dynamic and incorporated multiple influences in the sound
too. This is definitely one of the more Dub Step sounding songs on the album,
not one of my favorites, but a good track in its own light! It’s hard to disappoint when the song title
has Bullet in it, and Take a Bullet
had a really cool build up in the beginning that made me excited to hear what the rest of the song would sound like. I really liked the Squiggly sound
within the instrumental too. Haha. I am not sure if this was done by a guitar
or their electronic features, but it was unique and made me remember the track.
Jenny
is so easy to fall in love with and get hooked on, also another great example
of a dynamic song. Starting out intimate and soft, then as vocals start to
toughen up, you can feel the crescendo coming quick! Definitely loved this
track and is one of only three tracks on this album that made it to my personal playlist! God
Went North prepares you for the ending of the self-titled album and while I
wasn’t overly impressed by the song as a whole, the vocal range stole the show
and was impressive. I was just expecting a little more conviction and demand
for the end of the album.
We end the album with Pyre (must be a ‘yre’ obsession with
title tracks on this album haha) and the intro is simply ridiculously too long
for the last track on the album. The static, distorted sound is cool during the
buildup but it takes well over 35 seconds just to hear much of anything. There
are no lyrics or vocals and it is simply a jam track to fade you out to the end
of the album. Not necessary how I would do it but it was pretty cool to just
close my eyes and get lost in the sound.
I definitely suggest getting out
and getting this album, or at least giving them a listen online first! They are
hardworking, incredibly nice guys with talent that I expect to take them far.
Nothing More is currently on the Rock on the Range tour with big acts
like Guns ‘N Roses, Slayer, Chevelle, Black
Label Society, Kid Rock and many, many more! You can check out more on that
show here!
Get the album and past albums here:
http://store.bandwear.com/nothingmore
Check out the band, cop the album
and enjoy what KC Cassi gives a 8.25/10 Stars!
Check out more reviews, the local show calendar and more KC Music News at www.kccassi.com
