DESCRIPTION:
Have you ever had any sort house maintenance that you needed to get to, but never did?

Like, maybe it there was a cupboard in your kitchen that creaked whenever you opened it, or a door that kept getting jammed in its doorframe. Maybe you accidentally punched a hole through your bedroom wall while vacuuming, and you’ve really been wanting to patch up. Y’know, the sort of stuff that you walk past every day, and think to yourself, “hmm, I should really get to that one of these days,” then continue to walk past it because you’re a lazy piece of shit. That’s exactly how I’ve been with The Noid’s “Modern Life.” Every once in a while, I’d come across this release in my music library, and tell myself, “This is really good, I should totally get to posting to this soon.” Obviously, I never did, because I’m, quote-unquote, a lazy piece of shit. But hey, better late than never, right? On an unrelated side note, you should really get to patching up that hole in the wall. What, were you raised in a barn or something?

This is The Noids, a three-piece punk group hailing from Texas-City-Nobody-Cares-About #295 A.K.A. Denton (that’s the third time I’ve used that joke, is it funny yet?), and this is their late-2015 release, ambiguously titled “Modern Life.” A few months prior to the release of this long-player, the group had a fantastic demo out, which featured earlier renditions of four tracks listed here, along with a cover of The Urinals’ “I’m A Bug.” I didn’t know about many North Texan punk bands at the time, so to learn about music this stupefying that’s coming from some college town that I otherwise wouldn’t give two shits about, was really enticing. I later learned about other great Denton and North-Texas-based projects after having my hips guided by that Pill Wrekka guy, such as Elix-r, SSTD, and Soy Babies, but for the time-being, I thought The Noids was the coolest shit to come out of yet-another overlooked portion of the large expanses of Texas. That five-track demo served as both my introduction to the group and North Texan punk, so I was naturally was stoked to learn that they had a new tape out later that year, with that tape of course being “Modern Life.”

Having binged on their demo time and time again, I was pretty stunned to find how much of a leg-up “Modern Life” had on the demo. All of those songs, save for the Urinals cover, were completely re-recorded and expanded upon in the best ways possible, while also bringing forth SIX new numbers. As a small-time fan hailing from two states over, this seemed like a total godsend, even more-so once I discovered that they sounded better than ever before. It was captivating to hear that the group’s sounds have been further fleshed-out since I last heard them, maturating away from the brattier rock n’ roll tones found on their demo, tinging their music slightly with stronger post-punk vibes and general uncertainty. That’s not to say that this group can’t still muster up a lively, eclectic mass of rock n’ roll, which is still present in “Modern Life,” but it definitely seems like the group is gravitating more towards the darker-end of the punk spectrum with this release. I’m perfectly content with that direction, considering how well The Noids nails the energy and atmosphere. The opening track, “Small Mind”, first ensnares you with a jerky, but animated introductory segment, before a sneering grunt slips the group into a drawn-out, apprehensive melody, and finally blowing its cool by breaking out into an unrestrained rager for the final portion of the song. The constant shifts in tone and tempo is a constant theme within “Modern Life,” with there being a general descent into ambivalence as the tape progresses. Mid-way, “Paranoid” cements the transition with a lengthy, rock-like beatitude that’s outlined with a droning female vocalist, while an equally-droning synth note lingers on in the background. With all of this being perpetually accentuated by vocal harmonies and trade-offs from a male and female vocalist, it’s easy to become completely invested in “Modern Life” before you even hit the end of side A. It’s both brooding and exhilarating, and makes for a true testament to how talented The Noids are. If you haven’t listened to them by now, do yourself a favor and dig into these deranged melodies. “Modern Life” leaves very little to be desired, and could easily be considered the group’s magnum opus, potentially their swan song, yet The Noids isn’t quite done yet. They’re aiming to get out something new around mid-June, so we’ll have to wait and see if they’re able to top this and hopefully up the ante a bit further.

TRACK LIST:
Small Mind – 0:00
Butter Knife – 1:42
Nothing Changes – 3:20
Mold – 5:51
TV Sucks – 8:42
Paranoid – 10:15
Bored To Death – 13:01
Asshole – 14:58
Hours – 17:47
Modern Life – 19:44

SUPPORT: https://thenoids.bandcamp.com/album/modern-life
DOWNLOAD: http://www.mediafire.com/download/kwsxw85hwauiqun/Modern_Life.zip