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N0V3L
Novel EP
Flemish Eye - 2019
Michael Panontin
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You would think that, as latter-day purveyors of that angular, stop-start punk/funk now celebrating its fortieth birthday, the kids in N0V3L might have found sharing the stage with one of the genre's originators a daunting experience. But the Vancouver sextet, whose nearly eponymous debut Novel dropped in February, were nothing if not well prepared.
"This past January we had the opportunity to play a few songs as James Chance's backing band in Paris," the group's singer Jon Varley told BTRtoday. "We didn't know what songs we'd be playing, so during the sound check, James showed us the drum and bass grooves. Most of us were already familiar with the material, so the rest was intuitive. The whole experience was surreal and somewhat terrifying."
N0V3L take the post-punk credo pretty literally in fact, lacing their music - which checks stalwarts like Gang of Four, Wire and A Certain Ratio as well as more contemporary incarnations like Interpol or Girl Band - with healthy doses of caustic polemic. "The themes of this album are an introduction to N0V3L's ideological stance," Varley earnestly explains. "It questions the influence of media and advertisement, modern communication methods and financial/social value systems." The group even share a house as a self-sustaining creative collective producing their own videos and clothing.
Of the eight terse tracks on Novel - only one clocks in at over three minutes and just barely at that - the standout is without a doubt the thrilling 'To Whom It May Concern', a sonic assault of loping rhythms, abrasive guitars and a quivering vocal that baldly captures the icy angst of the early eighties. And though the rest of the EP is competent enough, there are times when the approach feels almost too studied - I could almost picture them striking that menacingly erect Andy Gill pose. 'To Whom...' is really the only track that pokes its head above the formulaic, but what a glorious triumph it is!
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Flemish Eye
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