![]() With an exaggerated swagger alongside electronic hues, pop sensibilities, brawling riffs, and raucous rhythms, Spirits is a lightning-in-a-bottle moment that captures the world’s uncertainty and flaws while eagerly building a towering sonic world impossible to resist and there’s nothing less than extraordinary rock’n’roll ready to stupefy on this brand new release.Anything but, nothing less/more than, more often than not etc. Once again showcasing that Nothing More are masters of fusing emotional and intimate notions into rousing calls to action and anthems purpose-built to rattle stadiums, Spirits also enamours with the band’s signature ability to straddle approachability and sonic annihilation. It’s a familiar yet expansive Nothing More that ultimately shines as SPIRITS draws to a close, while also simultaneously traversing the dichotomous notions of literal and metaphysical spirits. And the measured madness is certainly on full display on the group’s intense closing and title track SPIRITS, laden with guitars heavy enough to sledge a hole clean through your wall and percussion pouncing through the speakers at every turn. ![]() From fiery guitar solos to gang vocals, a chameleonic Hawkins, and entirely scathing arrangements, VALHALLA is Nothing More ballistically declaring to not “believe everything you hear, we’re all mad down here”. Similar to SHIPS IN THE NIGHT, NEVERLAND offers up another sampled poetic segue courtesy again of Alan Watts, before the acoustic intro of VALHALLA (Too Young To See) gives way to an absolutely searing performance from the entire Nothing More crew. From here there’s beast mode melodics ( THE OTHER F WORD ), modern pop powerhouses ( FACE IT, BEST TIMES ), and laidback palpitating odes ( DEJA VU ) alongside churning riffage and emo-ready choruses ( DREAM WITH ME ). With an exaggerated swagger alongside electronic hues, pop sensibilities, brawling riffs, and raucous rhythms, Spirits is a lightning-in-a-bottle moment that captures the world’s uncertainty and flaws while eagerly building a towering sonic world impossible to resist and there’s nothing less than extraordinary rock’n’roll ready to stupefy on this brand new release.īalancing out the sharp darkness with creamier delights, YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT LOVE MEANS brings a softer sway to proceedings a la Go To War from the band’s previous full-length The Stories We Tell Ourselves, without sacrificing the kinetic Nothing More vigour, while DON’T LOOK BACK dazzles with electronic soundscapes and a caustic vocal outing from Hawkins as he and the entire band flex their infectious and beautiful mayhem. Up next, SHIPS IN THE NIGHT opens with the repeated spoken mantra “The mystery of life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced”, evolving into spoken snippets from an Alan Watts Zen poem set to cascading drumwork before giving way to Hawkins to close out this short and snappy number. Following the album’s ferocious opener, TIRED OF WINNING treads familiar Nothing More territory for longtime fans, with bouncy guitars, electrifying instrumentation, and soaring choruses reigning supreme. ![]() Kicking off with the prowling-turned-powerhouse vocals of frontman Jonny Hawkins, Spirits erupts with the stomping anthem TURN IT UP LIKE (Stand In The Fire), which itself combusts via menacing soundscapes, emphatic riffs, and high octane rhythmics. ![]() Also accompanied by the band’s first ever graphic novel, a self-designed personality test linked to the novel, and material also utilised on the soundtrack for the horror film The Retaliators, Nothing More’s new opus Spirits may be technically and thematically haunted by the goings-on of the past few years but rather than simply wallow in pain, suffering, and isolation, Spirits instead challenges the angst and emboldens in a way Nothing More have been sharpening for close to two decades. MORE: PARKWAY DRIVE: “It’s About Encapsulating The Beauty In It, Through The Darkness” // DUNE RATS: Dance Lessons and Thinking Outside The Box REVIEWS: DUNE RATS: Real Rare Whale // THE INTERRUPTERS: In The Wild // WAAX: At Least I’m Free // I PREVAIL: True Power // PARKWAY DRIVE: Darker Still // STARCRAWLER: She Said // STRAY FROM THE PATH: EuthanasiaĬonsistently a band enamoured with crunch, metal, alt-rock and radio-ready sparkle, the Texan quartet that is Nothing More have emerged from lockdowns, a lack of live shows, and difficult personal experiences armed with their most urgent and vigorous outing to date in the form of Spirits. San Antonio rockers Nothing More unleash a spirited cacophony of hooks, anthems and searing intimacy on their sixth full–length outing Spirits.
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