Review Summary: Ibuprofen, got the memo?
Enemy Noise is a young hardcore/punk band from Long Beach, California. Since their inception in late 2008, they have released one EP as of May 2012 and even had some recognition on AP Magazine.
No Control, No Parade is a seven track, twenty-four minute long EP that opens up with the track
Forward, a vicious three minute punk rock assault on the ears (in a good way) that is sure to get any crowd in a small room pushing and moshing a bit. From there on there is only one way the EP moves. Ironically, it’s forward (pun intended).
The next two tracks on the EP,
Jimmy’s Got A Gun and
Dead Like Me follow in the same suit as
Forward with trying to be as loud and fast as possible (with some sections that slow the song down for a little while). However, the true outstanding gem on the EP is
The Forest. Whereas The previous three tracks were just straight forward hardcore punk and the band having fun (which can be a little boring after a while, but more on that later),
The Forest succeeds in separating itself from the rest of the EP in terms of variety. It opens up with a bassline and drumming that is soon followed by the introduction of the guitar and vocalist Luis Aguilar’s vocals. At times
The Forest speeds up, and slows down. The tempo is all over the place, but it is all well executed in a great and interesting fashion.
The Snake of Eden is more of the same as the first three tracks. It is once again on
From Green To Red that Enemy Noise manage to throw a left hook with a melodic side shown from the whole band at about a minute and a half into the track. The whole band makes a shift in sound not found elsewhere on the EP. A shift that even makes the vocalist take a different tone in vocal style than the ‘tough guy’ tone he’s taken throughout the EP (which as shoddy as it might sound, it is interesting and heartfelt and a welcome addition in his arsenal). We see a little of the same on the last track
Reverse and although it isn’t as well executed as that moment on
From Green To Red, it is still nice to hear.
Although there are standout moments on the EP, that’s not to say that it doesn’t have its faults.
No Control, No Parade can be a little too simple and standard at times. The band as a whole have a pretty good chemistry going on, but most of the time don’t do much to stray far from the path of the usual hardcore/punk band out there. The lack of variety on the album can become stale and makes it skippable at times. It’s very easy to become jaded by the band's overall sound after a while (e.g. the vocals are kind of generic and boring a lot of the time, the drumming can be too simple, and the guitars can try and be a little more interesting instead of just riffing/keeping the rhythm going). Some of the tracks (although trying to keep the momentum going) don’t flow well or transition together as smoothly as it could, and as a whole hurts the EP a bit. Expanding and experimenting with their sound a bit would definitely help the band as a whole to identify themselves as a band and maybe craft something a little more original.
Faults or not,
No Control, No Parade still manages to be a fun listen. It is only the bands first EP and they have a long way to go (there is a debut full length in the works so that might be a little interesting when it’s all done). Everybody has to start somewhere and it’s always interesting seeing young bands grow into forces to be reckoned with and game changers (e.g. Converge, At the Drive-In, etc). I look forward to Enemy Noise’s future LP in hopes of seeing them progress and making a full length that takes some of their finer moments as a band and manifests them into something greater that really sets them apart as a band.
