Hailing from Philedelphia, Nothing has released its sophomore follow-up, Tired of Tomorrow, after a 2014 debut. Take note that this band is released off of Relapse Records, a noted hardcore and metal label. There are strong progressive and hardcore elements on this album, but ultimately, the post-hardcore application of My Bloody Valentine-esque walls of sound allow for both sonic highs and lows.
Tired of Tomorrow is fresh at best and boring at its worst. The album opens to a promising opener, “Fever Queen,” which adequately addresses the soft pop-punk vibes layered over plenty of noise. “Vertigo Flowers” also stands out for its crisp instrumentation and thumping beat. The positive behind these two tracks is that it shows a sort of revival in what was the light-side of 2000s post-rock.
The huge negative of the album lies in the vocals. There is nothing more generic than hearing a soft voice over what is essentially just noise for another couple tracks while a beat that has been used hundreds of times this decade is looped underneath. This became a chief frustration, mainly on “ACD [Abcessive Compulsive Disorder]” and “Nineteen Ninety Heaven.” “Curse of the Sun” cures this boredom with what is a solid sonic beat and striking lyricism.
“Eaten By Worms” also rides much higher on this album by providing some variety and pushing more lyrical muscle. The album carries forwards a little more until it ends with the title track, “Tired of Tomorrow.” Thankfully, this track is satisfactory enough to tie up the album quite nicely.
To be frank, the lackluster variety in this album wouldn’t be half as much of a problem if Nothing hadn’t tried playing it safe when comparing this sophomore album with 2014’s Guilty of Everything. This being said, this album still wasn’t bad. There were some excellent highs which will catch attention entirely and the lyrics are well thought out and have heart poured into them. The unfortunate bit for Nothing is that, while this album may be a solid 6/10, there is a wealth of post-rock, hardcore and shoegaze bands out there that have long since tread the ground that they are exploring.
Recommended If You Like: My Bloody Valentine, Fugazi, Deafheaven
Suggested Tracks: 1(Fever Queen), 3(Vertigo Flowers), 7(Eaten by Worms)
Do Not Play: 6 (Curse of the Sun)
Written by Dylan Fox on 05/04/16