Straight away, let me say this: Nephu Huzzband is a great band name, not least because it doesn’t sound like anything else currently on the market. How suitable, then, that their new single “Nurse! Nurse!” doesn’t sound like anything else on the market either.
Its brevity alone assures that – the standard version of “Nurse! Nurse!” that opens up this single clocks in a mere 1:27, though there is a longer version (the “Morphine 100ml edit”) that stretches out to the full extent of 2:36. This is a short sharp injection of angular old-school post-hardcore, a fix that could easily have emerged from the era when Fugazi were cutting a new path through the thicket of soundalikes. Relying on aural space and abstract anti-melodic hooks instead of digital distortion and tired clichés, Nephu Huzzband sound strong and fresh, blowing through the clones like an ambulance through traffic.
A lot can happen in a minute and a half – much more than you might expect. Seemingly a simple verse/chorus/verse arrangement with a brisk bridge and shout-along vocals, “Nurse! Nurse!” bristles with ideas that want to wander off and do their own thing. Nephu Huzzband know better, though; they’ve learned the power of keeping their tunes on the tightest of leashes.
B-side “Lions, Tigers & Bears” sprawls across the comparatively epic space of four minutes, but there’s no flabbiness to be found. Taut, muscular, morose and slightly paranoid, it’s a brisk but languid trip through angst that is all the more convincing due to its ambiguous and slightly surreal lyrics and spacious jazzy guitars and drums.
Arty without excess pretense, progressive without being self-indulgent, Nephu Huzzband are working to a blueprint I’d like to hear used more often - much more often. Here’s hoping that “Nurse! Nurse!” is a harbinger of a full album of equal quality.
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Posted in Music reviews |
Tags: art-rock, Nephu Huzzband, new wave, Nurse! Nurse!, post-hardcore, progressive, punk
