by Ryan Mincey
For the last few years, when people in my town thought of young local bands, they would probably think of Nox Boys. Nox Boys, hailing from the Blawnox suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, were very well known among my high school peers, and many schools in the Pittsburgh area. With the band being composed of Zack Kiem on Guitar and Vocals, Zach Stadtlander on bass, Sam Berman on drums, and Pittsburgh slide guitar veteran Bob Powers (Sam Berman’s Uncle), it’s no wonder they had the appeal of the music lovers of my generation. When I set out to write my first article for TUNED UP, Nox Boys were the first band to come to mind because of their impact on the local Pittsburgh scene and other young local musicians such as myself.
Signed to Get Hip recordings, Nox Boys have played countless shows in the Pittsburgh area, including playing at this years incarnation of the Three Rivers Art festival, a popular Pittsburgh music and art festival. Their garage rock sound has brought them success in the region, and their 2014 self-titled album is no exception.
Mixing 60’s surf rock with fuzzed-out garage punk has brought Nox Boys a very unique sound. While the lyrics can be repetitive at times, the instrumentals are spot on the entire album.
With the first song “Desperate Girl,” their surf-punk style is immediately evident. Plenty of reverb on the guitars, and even the occasional fuzzed out guitar track. The bass flows as it should, and the drums are precise. One of the things that is present throughout the album is Bob Powers’ slide guitar. Slide guitar is not an instrument that is commonly used in modern rock, so it is very pleasing to hear it used tastefully throughout the album. It is very clear that everyone in the band knows their instruments well, and can get awesome sounds out of them. Zack’s vocals are very fitting for the style, with a voice that at times reminds me of Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/184545459″ /]The only real complaint I have about the album is on some songs, such as “Take My Heart and Break It” the lyrics are pretty repetitive and lacking the lyrical complexity. That being said the instrumental genius on this album is very present, and almost makes up for the lack of lyrical complexity of some of the songs. However, some of the songs, such as “Military School” and “I Don’t Care Anymore” are very well written lyrically.
There are albums where I can’t make it through the whole album without skipping a song or two. This is not one of the albums. While I obviously prefer some songs to others, every song is worth a listen.
With all things considered, I’d give this album a 4 out of 5, seeing how the instrumentals are great, but some of the lyrics were lacking to me. It is highly worth the time to listen to, and I look forward to what Nox Boys provides in the future.
0 Comments