Published on Jun 19, 2018
With a band name like this, you should expect some volume and aggression. Tacoma, Washington's Noi!se certainly live up to their name, as the four piece pummels through quick bursts of hard hitting street punk on their second album. Not only are a dozen timeless tracks present, but appearances from members of Dropkick Murphys, The Interrupters, and The Forgotten make this an essential listen for all fans of punk rock.
Noi!se wastes zero time with their heartfelt assault on the guitar frenzied “Passing Time,” where anthemic melody meets a charged pace and rowdy, pit friendly energy. A similar formula follows on “Take It Back” and “Dull The Pain,” the former being especially visceral, and the latter touching on melodic hardcore and is as abrasive as it is memorable.
Though none of the songs here are long by anyone's standards, the shortest of the short are some of the best. “SPD” packs guitar solos, raw vocals, and the intensity of a freight train into 90 seconds, and “Sea Of Apathy” offers bouncy bass lines and ultra-fast singing; it places the emphasis on rock in punk rock.
The back half doesn't disappoint either, with the rumbling bass and guest vocals from Aimee Interrupter on “The War Inside” and the album highlight, “Right Through You,” which gives us a glimpse of what Hot Water Music might sound like on steroids.
Now I realize that a lot of people feel if you've heard one street punk band you've heard them all. And I have to admit there is probably some truth to that. But Noi!se is a different animal whose intricate guitar work brings to mind (early) Bad Religion and there exists influences from early UK punk (think Stiff Little Fingers) and even mid- '80s NYHC (Sick Of It All).
As far as modern day punk, it just doesn't get any better than Noi!se, and this is some of their best work to date.