Review Summary: What makes a band unknown?
When stumbling across an unknown artist, many outcomes can occur. Maybe you listen, check out a few songs, and decide to pass on their discography. Or perhaps, a few of the songs pique your interest and you find some good stuff, but you never really come back to them after maybe a week. However, on some rare occasions, you’ll find a band that really makes you question why they are unknown to begin with. I mean, they have everything there. The music, the production, the lyricism, the composition; everything just hits perfectly. Whether it’s their debut or their fifth project, the unknown band hits it out of the park and leaves you wondering why they aren’t known. So, now I ask the question:
Why is Not Nearly still unknown?
To put it simply, Not Nearly does everything you’d expect from their style, blending swancore progressions with heavy post-hardcore leanings with mathy elements scattered throughout
Future Damage. Everyone in the band executes their part effortlessly. The guitar work seamlessly mixes melodic technicality and heavy riffing, crafting a contrast between the harmonies and the aggression. Drumming defines the record as it pushes every track along, ebbing and flowing between intensity and groove all while maintaining the pace and progression elegantly. The vocal performances accents
Future Damage with their variety of powerful screams and shouts and soaring cleans that fluidly glide over the instrumentation. Each member plays their role with such chemistry that all of the styles Not Nearly explores are gracefully performed.Throughout
Future Damage, the band experiments with the high energy swancore burners like “Big Gas Pack” and “Happy Birthday” while balancing this with calm and melodic stylings of “In Case You’re Lonely.” However, where the band truly shines lies in “Tomorrow” and “Damage,” the two longest jams of the record. With plenty of room to breathe and an abundance of time to progress, these songs display the true talent of the band by gradually growing into explosive choruses and immense climaxes. Whatever the style, Not Nearly excels in creating only the best for what the genre has to offer.
Although this is only their debut album, Not Nearly shows an immense amount of potential in the scene. Their chemistry is extensively displayed throughout
Future Damage and shows how talented each member is and how they collectively and cohesively work together to craft a magnificent project. They may only be an unknown local band, but they perform at a level not far off from the veterans of the genre. So why is Not Nearly unknown? Someone please tell me because it’s definitely not a reflection of their quality.
