None More Black - "This is Satire"
None More Black - "This is Satire."
A Story by Jonny Taint
None More Black - I first came across the singer of NMB (Jason Shevchuk) by accident. Lura and I had gone to a Face to Face show at the Troc in Philly and couldn't believe the performance that his former band "Kid Dynamite" put on. The 1st band was Alkaline Trio and that weren't too good, but I bought their CD anyway in case it was a bad night (it was just bad). Kid Dynamite came on 2nd and blew the doors off the fucking place. Last was Face To Face who I usually loved, but this was the beginning of their Major Label "Indie Rock" experiment, so we left after 2 songs. Why am I rambling on about some show from 10 years ago?What really stood out about the show was Jason's voice (singer of Kid Dynamite)! If you've never heard Kid Dynamite or None More Black, Jason Shevchuk's voice is intoxicating and stands out like an emo kid at a hardcore show. After the show we found out that it was their last show and we we're pissed off to have missed out on such a great band, but isn't that how it usually works? Or so we thought.....
So a few years pass and we hear that Jason Shevchuk is in a new band - "None More Black" and I run out and get their CD right away. (File Under Black) - Hot damn, it was the fire! None More Black was a little mellower than Kid Dynamite, but that was great because it allows for Jason's voice to be the center piece and let you savor in the lyrics.
Recently I picked up the newest release "This Is Satire" from None More Black and was disappointed. Now I'm not saying that it's entirely a "bad" CD, but it's not what you would expect from this band. Some of the songs are at the level you're used to, but then their are some that are very Indie Rock. When I try to expalin it to others it is easier to use a comparison to another solid band - Minor Threat. The comparison is this, Minor Threat started as a hardcore band with a singer who's voice was electric. The band ended and Ian McKay started Fugazi. Fugazi was a little slower at 1st and then started to transform to a whiny Indie band. It was a sad ending to such an impactful beginning. That all being said I don't believe that Kid Dynamite was as impactful as Minor Threat by any means, but the paralel of progression is very similar.
If you like None More Black don't buy the whole CD, go to E-music and pick up the 3-4 good songs. I would recommend "You Suck, but your peanut butter is ok." other than that this CD was a big disappointment and based upon the progression the next is sure to be worse.
