DESCRIPTION:
Holy shit.

Talk about a vast fuckin’ improvement, because Nopes’ newest LP is absolutely stunning! I mean, not to imply that the group provided a weak performance back in their debut EP, “Nectar of the Dogs”—which they certainly didn’t—but this upcoming LP of theirs is a personal godsend. Now, I’m not sure WHICH god exactly, but all I know is that I oughta get on my knees and start praying right now, because this blessed twelve-incher is one of the finer things to grace my ears in a long time—and yes, that still remains to be the case in spite of how audibly-abrasive the music may be.

I imagine that a number of you have already familiarized yourselves with the Nope’s rambunctious, equally-saccharine rock n’ roll chunage. At least, judging from the surprisingly-positive reception the group has received on my channel, I assume that’d be the case. To clarify, no, I’m not saying that Nopes is undeserving of this notoriety; in fact, I think that they deserve infinitely times more. What’s surprising is that, even though my channel has been endlessly inundated by dozens and dozens of punk bands ever since I originally shared their 2015 EP back in April, Nopes still stands to be a frequently-mentioned cornerstone group on my channel, being repeatedly cited as a favorite band among listeners who’ve scoured through my catalog. As a band whose discography contained only a single five-track EP, that’s nothing short of impressive. And only now, well over a year since the release of this East Bay punk group’s “Nectar of the Dogs” EP, has the Nopes chosen to grace us with a long-awaited second serving of fuzz-drenched goodness, “Never Heard of It”; and hot damn, is it a fucking masterpiece.

As previously mentioned, “Never Heard of It” serves to be the group’s second release, being only preceded by a single tape released by Magnetic Eye Records, which is the same New York-based label that’s releasing this twelve-track 12”. If you didn’t find their “Nectar of the Dogs” EP to be to your liking, I highly recommend that you willingly subject yourself to the group’s frenzied, fuzz-laden sounds once more, as the group has gone and honed their craft to a disastrous degree. Diverging from the mid-tempo noise-rock opener found in their EP, this LP chooses to careen out the starting gate with a garagey, hammed-up riff in “Corners”, gracefully setting the stage up for an explosive chorus that seems more in line with the Nopes you’re familiar with: highly-expressive guitar riffage, impassioned vocals, dynamic basslines, and top-notch drum work, all culminating into an aggressive slew of punk rhythms that aim to invigorate just as much as they stupefy. In “Never Heard of It”, the group has more or less toned down the dreaminess in the majority of these songs and instead brought their aggressiveness up to 11, with the light-hearted, slower-paced melodies found in the opening and closing tracks of “Nectar of the Dogs” often being replaced by temperamental, palpably urgent choruses in “Never Heard of It”, making little room for airy compositions to envelop yourself in. The closest the album gets to anything resembling a low-energy song, at least in a relative sense, is in the surprisingly mathematical “3:00”, or the psychedelic venture that is “Duran Duran Duran”. Aside from that, you’re locked into a raging sprawl of equally-brilliant punk rock anthems that manage to retain its memorability and infectiousness through the unbearable intensity, with each and every one of these tracks easily contending for a spot on my “top punk songs of 2016” list—hell, the LP itself is already a personal favorite for the entire year. So in short, if you thought Nopes’ debut EP was good, then this LP is going to melt your fucking face off.

[Remaining portion of the write-up is in the comments.]

TRACK LIST:
Screens – 0:00
2:59 – 1:41
Saigon / Stow – 2:52
Cubes – 5:55
Corners – 7:52
I Hate Living in the City – 10:39
Full Time Greeter – 13:15
3:00 – 15:00
Blinds – 18:14
Duran Duran Duran – 21:09
Poetry in Motion – 25:17
Ditches – 27:47

SUPPORT: https://hellanaw.bandcamp.com/album/never-heard-of-it
DOWNLOAD: http://www.mediafire.com/file/utri3faox97rric/Never_Heard_of_It.zip