 So
far, the ‘nu’ preface has given me nothin’ but trouble. Nu-punk, nu-metal,
and all the goddamn whining and pointless suburban aggression it’s spawned
has been a blight on rock n’ roll for a good 4 years now. Luckily, these
guys are English, and therefore, above the adolescent jock n’ roll fray.
Not to be confused with the turgid, space-case alterna-metal band that got
booed off Lollapalooza stages a few years back, this Nurotica
are a much more intriguing creature- a psychedelic dreampop band that
actually rocks. No shit. They’ve got all the be-winged guitars and florid
vocal displays of a top shelf bliss rock outfit, only they freak freely in
all the right places. Opener “Transporation to Nowhere” is an
almost straightforward rocker, in a slinky, Gene Loves Jezebel
kinda way, but two tracks later, on the narcotic “Listen to the Silence”,
they are firmly in trippy Primal Scream territory. Imagine
dancing to the Spacemen 3. Well, ok, imagine all the drugs
that’d take first, but then imagine doin’ the crazy legs to a hazy,
low-level fuzzbox that gurgles, pops, and occasionally riffs out. That’s
Nurotica. Not exactly full-contact rock and roll, but a very
pleasant side-effect, for sure. |