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In four minutes of this record there are two tracks that together have more melodies, more moments of joy, than most bands will manage this year.
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Nothing Hurts is full of that kind of excitement: the sound of a fast, fuzzy rock band racing from hook to hook, plowing happily through breakdowns and guitar blasts, springing through scrappy melodies with style. It's one of the happiest surprises of the year so far.
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Nothing Hurts is a strong debut, even when it's gentle.
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Their debut album will probably not be a Shins-esque licence to print money for the label, but it's a minor triumph as a grab-bag of punky jams.
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The result is purest punk bubblegum, and deserves to be blasted long and loud all summer long.
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But while you’d think the group’s hard-punching sound might be sloppy considering how it comes on so fast and furiously, it’s surprising how little wasted energy there is on Nothing Hurts, with most of any excess burned off of the album’s lean and mean half-hour running time.
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It's OK to play with enthusiasm. Oh, and also, it helps to have an album with 12 fantastic songs, the way the do on Nothing Hurts.
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Nothing Hurts is a more honest, more somber take on the current garage wave. There's no sense of silliness or sniggering irony; these songs were written with a heavy heart, and that makes the record a lot more captivating, and a lot easier to invest in.
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It's hard to make such familiar ingredients feel fresh, but the sheer zest Male Bonding bring to bear can make even the most jaded palates tingle.
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So maybe Nothing Hurts won’t be a record at the vanguard of a movement. But it certainly moves.
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MojoMale Bonding brilliantly transpose their neighbourhood's scrufffy, rule-breaking fashion ethos into an exhilaratingly melodic breed of post-hardcore punk rock. [June 2010, p. 96]
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It's lo-fi at its finest and a contender for one of the more impressive debuts of the year so far. Fans of the genre will lap it up and with very good reason: it's short, sharp and straight to the point.
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FilterBolstered by Webb's shoegazing sense of melody, Nothing Hurts pushes over and above the static possibilities of lo-fi. [Spring/Summer 2010, p.110]
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The lyrics do little to stand out, but that hardly blights the rest of the experience. And none of the 13 tracks on Nothing Hurts tops the 2:45 mark, so it’s a speedy listen.
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Nothing Hurts is a small step forward for the typically single-note noise-pop revival, although the album is considerably dampened by Webb’s vocals; deadpan and drab, his voice has far too much carefully crafted slack to it, not to mention a marked lack of hooks and conviction.
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The album coasts through 13 songs in just 29 minutes, making for a seemingly perfect setlist of distorted, high-energy punk.
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Nothing Hurts goes in the ear loud and fast. And out the other ear just as quickly.
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Q MagazineSparky debut from trio in thrall to US post-hardcore. [July 2010, p. 135]
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Nothing Hurts ends up being its own worst enemy: it obscures its biggest strengths, choosing not to showcase them but to drown them out in a familiar and uninteresting haze.
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UncutIt's a short album, just 30 minutes, and "Weird Feelings" is one song that stands for most: full of hooks and sparks it's fun while it lasts but over in two minutes and too easily forgotten.
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Trouble is, after one listen it becomes evident that MB hardly benefit from further investigation – they’re just another hipster band who got lucky.
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Under The RadarAlthough the album starts off with a bang, it all starts to sound awfully similar after three tracks. [Spring 2010, p.72]
User score distribution:
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Positive: 5 out of 7
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Mixed: 1 out of 7
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Negative: 1 out of 7
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ZeusJun 18, 2010One of the best releases of the year!! DIY.
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DManJun 2, 2010