In December, last year Papua New Guinean parliamentary speaker, Theo Zurenoc, attacked a series of carvings adorning his own parliament building with a chainsaw, arguing that they were “evil spirits,” a representation of “cultural backwardness” that he believed should be thoroughly trodden down under a bright Christian future. Not so for Moro, the Solomon Island “bigman” featured in David Attenburough’s 1975 Tribal Eye series, who rallied his community in rejection of colonial and Christian encroachment, preaching a “tradition” partly grafted in the heat of refusal.
Point is: abrupt disjuncture is a dangerous affair.
Luckily Leeds/Bradford DIY supergroup NOPE have got the “change” thing all sussed out on new album Walker; digging harder into the contours of motorik pummels, sloshy riffs and chiropractic abandon they mapped so well in last album, Revision. No chainsaws of the future or rigid narratives of the “past” here, but a lesson in the power of shifting iteration. This is most potently demonstrated on 30-minute title-track “Walker”, a song so good it prompted a bout of ridiculous “creative” “writing” by YOURS TRULY that I’m told will be featuring on the standard UK English Literature examinations for 15-16 year olds as of next year. For “Television Fortune,” occasional distributor of CDR Noise and fellow Leeds resident David Thomas contrasts footage of Moro and his community’s sea spirit dances alongside some more Tribal Eye stock; the Qashqai Nomads of Iran, weaving rugs that both record and inform cultural practice. The clear incongruities are played with via blurred shapes and moments of movement, united in silence under NOPE’s glorious dual-drum clattering.
UK folk can catch the band on tour from June 13 onwards, while keen beans in the North can also catch NOPE guitarist/vocalist Patrick Dowson at this year’s Threadfest, playing a reunion gig with legendary Bradford three-piece Monty Casino.
Walker is released on June 9 by Obscene Baby Auction and The Audacious Art Experiment. It can be pre-ordered and streamed at the Obscene Baby Auction Bandcamp.
• NOPE: http://www.justsaynope.co.uk
• Obscene Baby Auction: http://www.obscenebabyauction.co.uk
• The Audacious Art Experiment: http://www.theaudaciousartexperiment.com
More about: Nope
