Memphis four-piece NOTS continue to make off-kilter music with a frenetic energy that moves from unrelenting to unsettling on Cosmetic, their second full-length album.
The title track feels reminiscent of Clockcleaner or Pissed Jeans, as it lurches along; deranged, wide-eyed and perched at the ready to move from the shadows to attack with feline-like precision. No Novelty is more straight forward punk, adhering to expected chord progressions, but the cascading array of weird synth bleeps keeps NOTS sound firmly at the fringes.
There is still plenty of melody within the noise on Cosmetic. Inherently Low has all the makings of a new wave number, but a sped up tempo, paired with gang vocals and the whole affair being swathed in a mass of sinister sound effects keeps it pointedly un-pop, ensuring that NOTS maintain their bleak and antagonistic outlook. Fluorescent Sunset winds the intensity down a notch; reverb soaked and dripping in goth gloom that echoes off into the menace of the night.
Closer Entertain Me starts off as a slow moody burn but quickly escalates into a writhing beast. Natalie Hoffman sneers with contempt as the synth swirls, the guitars rip and reel in a psychedelic fashion and the bass and drums keep the epic number from completely catapulting off into the ether.
On their second offering NOTS have continued to solidify their characteristic sound whilst suitably extending on their brand of weirdo anxiety-driven punk.
BY KRYSTAL MAYNARD
