No Use For A Name

The Feel Good Record Of The Year

Written by: PP on 18/04/2008 16:30:07

Well I\'ll be damned. In my review of No Use For A Name\'s 2005 album \"Keep Them Confused\" I had already written the band off, thinking the glory days of \"Making Friends\" and \"More Betterness\" were just a shadow in the corner serving as a reminder of the glory days of melodic punk rock in the mid 90s. With their tenth album \"The Feel Good Record Of The Year\", NUFAN goes back to their roots and writes what is possibly the best album of their career, and most certainly the best record the band has written in ten years.

The change is evident already in the first track \"The Biggest Lie\". It is the fastest and heaviest song NUFAN has written as far as my memory goes, and the chorus is great too. Welcome back the fast-paced punk rock drumbeat, the melodic vocal harmonies, the high-octane power chords, and most importantly, the great choruses. But wait for it. The second track \"I Want To Be Wrong\" is the single best No Use For A Name song ever surfaced. It combines all the best elements from the band\'s past, the fast guitars, the incredible melodies, and it has an infectious chorus to die for. It\'s the kind of song that gives you chills when vocalist Sly shouts \"I WANNA BE WROOOOONG\" after a huge buildup. \"Yours To Destroy\" is another trademark NUFAN song, utilizing the quiet/loud dynamic as if it was 1995 today. \"Under The Garden\" is another great one with a harmonious, albeit slightly melancholic chorus, cementing the mood of this record as being a trade off between the bitter melancholy and the joyous up-beatness the band has been known for in the past.

Acoustic track \"Sleeping Between Train Trucks\" slows things down a bit, before \"Domino\"\'s bouncy guitars show exactly why NUFAN has such a high status in the punk circles. \"The Feel Good Song Of The Year\" has a fitting name, as it is a high tempo song with great power chords fitted into a melodic format, sure to have you banging your head and singing along in joy. The transition to the bouncy rhythm in \"The Trumpet Player\" is great, and there\'s no doubt in my mind it will in due time become another NUFAN classic.

Speaking of classics, make sure you listen to \"Pacific Standard Time\" even though it\'s towards the end of the record, because again, it is one of the best songs the band has written in its 20-year long existence, and arguably the second best track on the CD. But that\'s a tough call, because every song on the record is a candidate for the best melodic skate punk song of the last five years.

Finally I\'d like to finish off this review with a note for the band: Dear NUFAN, thanks for figuring out what it is that you do best. Thanks for writing yet another punk album that will define the future musical tastes of countless high school teenagers, thus ensuring the word of punk rock will keep spreading. Thanks for showing us all how melodic punk rock is meant to be done. \"The Feel Good Record Of The Year\"? Damn right it is.

9

Download: I Want To Be Wrong, The Trumpet Player, Pacific Standard Time, Domino
For the fans of: Adjusted, Lagwagon, Descendents, Good Riddance, Strung Out
Listen: Myspace
Buy: iTunes

Release date 01.04.2008
Fat Wreck Chords

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