On the Nein's self-titled debut EP (an "appetizer" for the group's forthcoming full-length, according to their press release), the Durham, NC trio-cum-occasional quartet deliver a taut 6-song offering brimming with sass and style, but a noticeable lack of fire in the performances.
Featuring former members of the White Octave (the only reason I'm familiar with this group is because when I was 14 and on a heavy emo binge, I would occasionally see the group's name pop up on Allmusic.com searches for Sunny Day Real Estate and Cursive), the Nein seem to have carried along their former group's penchant for sizable grooves and earnest melodies. But where the White Octave reveled in a bit more noisy territory, the Nein's sound clearly has roots in the angular guitars of DC bands like Fugazi and Jawbox, but also repetitious kraut-rock like Can and Neu!
Many of the songs on the EP, particularly opener "Five Extinctions" (which sounds like it had U2's the Edge's seal of approval before seeing the light of day), appear to appropriate a hybrid sound encompassing the two influences with largely uninspiring results. The Nein can capably meld infectious kraut-rock rhythms with the gaunt guitarwork of J. Robbins and Bill Barbot circa For Your Special Sweetheart on much of the EP, but there's nothing present in the material that makes me want to jump out of my seat.
But I suppose that's pretty much the only criticism I had with the Nein's EP, and it's no fault of the band's. It was difficult for me to find anything wrong with the EP, frankly; a number of the tracks get your toes tapping (the aforementioned "Five Extinctions," "House Atreides") or have you singing along by the time the second chorus comes around ("Handout," "War Is On The Stereo"), but there's an indefinable spark absent from the group's performances that made me slightly uncomfortable. It's not something I can explain easily, but you sort of know if it is or isn't there when you hear it.
To conclude: it very well may be the case that the reason the Nein's EP made me so uncomfortable was simply a fear that the music I make when I'm a little older and little more world-weary might sound so plain; but regardless of whether or not the Nein's spark is absent, these North Carolinians have given the public an adequate EP of fairly straight-ahead indie rock with a workmanlike delivery that, though left me a little dry, is just fine and dandy.
Featuring former members of the White Octave (the only reason I'm familiar with this group is because when I was 14 and on a heavy emo binge, I would occasionally see the group's name pop up on Allmusic.com searches for Sunny Day Real Estate and Cursive), the Nein seem to have carried along their former group's penchant for sizable grooves and earnest melodies. But where the White Octave reveled in a bit more noisy territory, the Nein's sound clearly has roots in the angular guitars of DC bands like Fugazi and Jawbox, but also repetitious kraut-rock like Can and Neu!
Many of the songs on the EP, particularly opener "Five Extinctions" (which sounds like it had U2's the Edge's seal of approval before seeing the light of day), appear to appropriate a hybrid sound encompassing the two influences with largely uninspiring results. The Nein can capably meld infectious kraut-rock rhythms with the gaunt guitarwork of J. Robbins and Bill Barbot circa For Your Special Sweetheart on much of the EP, but there's nothing present in the material that makes me want to jump out of my seat.
But I suppose that's pretty much the only criticism I had with the Nein's EP, and it's no fault of the band's. It was difficult for me to find anything wrong with the EP, frankly; a number of the tracks get your toes tapping (the aforementioned "Five Extinctions," "House Atreides") or have you singing along by the time the second chorus comes around ("Handout," "War Is On The Stereo"), but there's an indefinable spark absent from the group's performances that made me slightly uncomfortable. It's not something I can explain easily, but you sort of know if it is or isn't there when you hear it.
To conclude: it very well may be the case that the reason the Nein's EP made me so uncomfortable was simply a fear that the music I make when I'm a little older and little more world-weary might sound so plain; but regardless of whether or not the Nein's spark is absent, these North Carolinians have given the public an adequate EP of fairly straight-ahead indie rock with a workmanlike delivery that, though left me a little dry, is just fine and dandy.
1. Five Extinctions
2. Handout
3. War On The Stereo
4. House Atreides
5. Giorgio
6. Clearwater
More about: The Nein
