N8NOFACE – AS OF RIGHT NOW

Have you ever seen a chameleon? They’re interesting creatures, blending into their surroundings and sometimes going undetected. It’s a great defense mechanism, and its camouflage ability is only matched by green berets who hide out in the bush, waiting for their prey, sometimes hoping they never arrive. But what we’re here for, it’s something completely different.

N8NOFACE is a chameleon, but that’s of his own choosing. His last release, which dropped in March, Bad Man Back Again EP, was more aggressive, a lot more so than his new As Of Right Now EP (Stones Throw), an engaging electronic hodgepodge of sound that’s both danceable and ethereal. For this release, he worked with producer/songwriter Marcos Garcia, aka Chico Mann (Antibalas, Here Lies Man), for a vibe that’s both nostalgic and contemporary. N8NOFACE hits all the right spots with his latest.

FLATWAVES – TELL ME SECRETS

There are those who are much smarter than I am, and I’m never afraid to admit that. We all have those moments when a fool is right on occasion, as I’ve mentioned in the past, how Philadelphia has always been a creative ground for a number of artists, either from the city itself or the surrounding area. Yeah, I’ve had that conversation with a couple of musicians, and in the past decade, I’ve looked at Philly like NY was back in the mid-90s; vibrant with an assortment of musicianship and explosiveness.

The Philly 4-piece Flatwaves just released its third album this week, Tell Me Secrets (Abandon Everything Records), a caterwauling display of punk-enthused psychedelia filtered through overdriven guitars and a thundering rhythm. This is the way the band seems to move, usually in one singular motion. The melodies are prevalent through the din of distortion as heard on “Paloma,” an epic excursion that isn’t tied down to anything, while “Loraine” finds a pop band underneath all the chaos surrounding it. You might think chaos is a euphemism for something else, but that mayhem is enticing and glorious. Instruments seemingly crash against one another, oceans of guitars are the waves that swell under the crescent moon as the band is complacent within its own perfection.

But with the band’s style, it’s easily accessible to a variety of subgenres. “Childs Pose” itself, with its engaging wall-of-guitar interplay and thick rhythm, could put several groups to shame and might even challenge Kevin Shields & co. The song carves out its own path with every note, every blow, as its fiery progressions charge the heavens. Then there’s fast-paced “Route 38,” which doesn’t give anyone enough room to breathe, as I imagine the sonic scream of the song itself liquifying everything in its path like an out-of-control banshee.

Tell Me Secrets is a melodic cacophonic spree indulging everyone’s senses, all at once. It’s a charming delivery, packaged with controlled wailing guitar surging across musical landscapes. It doesn’t get any better than this.

SPOILS SYSTEM – THE NOPE OUT

Never one to toss around certain obvious tags or nicknames for a style of play, this time around, no one can avoid it. As much as it pains me to say, “emo” has morphed into more than just a sound; it’s a look, it’s a style, one that the younger generation of H.S. and middle school kids find funny somewhere in between the eyeliner and hairstyle(s).

Enter: Spoils System, that Hudson Valley, NY outfit made up of Dan Coutant (vocals/guitar/keys), Sean Hansen (guitar/vocals) – both of whom cut their teeth in Joshua back in the early 2000s – David Fateman (bass), and Mark Frankel (drums). The band has just released its sophomore effort with The Nope Out (Sweet Cheetah), and there’s something different about the band, forcing it to stand out from the pack of groups that continually write and record music in a familiar style that makes them indistinguishable from one another. It isn’t the same for Spoils System, though. The band reels you in quickly with its opener “Scrapes,” firing on all cylinders as the dual guitar interplay revels in the melody it delivers. The rhythm section follows suit, adding the backbone as Coutant’s voice and words are woven throughout the canopy of sound. Every note, strum, beat, you hear every nuance, every brushstroke within the song. Nothing is left untouched. This is the moment that’s captivating and forces you to explore the rest of the album.

The group is easily capable of moving from one direction to another, case in point: the pop explosiveness of “I Still Exist.” There are a couple of factors here that are attributed to it, one being Coutant’s vocal delivery, where he captures a melody within his words that offsets the band’s instruments, especially when he and Hansen harmonize. The unassuming rhythm is what propels the track as everyone moves in unison with one another. At moments, it may seem sparse, but it’s far from being flawed. Midway through the track shifts gears, but continually remains pretty rhythmic with jangly guitars before it reverts to its original form. Spoils System changes moods as atmospheric “Force For Good,” moves with subtlety until it begins to pick up speed, crescendos into a quick-paced frolic. It’s a song like “Over” that may draw you nearer to Spoils System, luring you in with a wash of keyboard vibrato notes as guitars begin to strum in and the band shifts dynamics pretty quickly. The rhythm is infectious and the band probably knows it too, with Coutant’s words pulling you in closer, unable to pull away as if sucked into the sound of a black hole. As quickly as it starts is a fast as it ends, but what’s left is a buttery aftertaste that you’ll want to get more of.

The Nope Out is a pleasant surprise that intrigues as much as it forces the listener into the band’s musical world. It’s easy to say that as you hit that play button again to literally rock out to the band’s music. Spoils System leaves everything on the table, and either you like them or you’re just wrong.