No Thank You: All It Takes To Ruin It All (Lame-O Records) 

When musicians come together and a decision is made to become a power-pop band, there’s a need to bring every semblance of being and give it your all because it’s not as if it’s something that hasn’t been done before. The reinvention of the wheel it isn’t but throughout the years there have been bands that have exceeded expectations, so what does Philly’s No Thank You have to offer?
The band recently dropped its new album All It Takes To Ruin it All, the trio’s sophomore release and it seems there just might be something to the trinity of its membership, comprised of long-time friends Kaytee Della Monica, Nick Holdorf, and Evan Bernard. From track to track the band blankets songs with enough distortion to raise eyebrows. On the opening “Furrowed Brows” it’s enough to raise my own. They make their moves slowly, eventually quickening the pace and later erupting into a catharsis of sound. And this is the usual M/O throughout the album, all the while pulling the combined pop sensibilities together from song to song. That’s not to say that every song mimics the last though. The marching drive of “Cubic Zirconia” takes hold of the rhythm and drives it deep into the nether regions of psyches. But then “Dash” will have you waiting for the simpler things like the two notes plucked on the guitar before the band shifts dynamics. This is the point you’ll find yourself enamored with Kaytee’s voice as it blends seamlessly with the other instruments.
One thing you’ll realize is that half of the songs on the album fall under the 2-minute mark. But that’s ok because those songs don’t need anything else thrown in the mix. Although when the band does tread into deeper waters on “Branch Doubt” they’ll use the same formula that’s worked for them but also add ethereal keyboards to fill in space perfectly. “Hell Bent” rides its guitars and rhythm for dear life through its entirety and then the harmonies come in. You won’t be able to NOT love this one.
I think the band says it best themselves about what it is they do and who they are: Kaytee, Evan and Nick play in No Thank You. We are contemporary adults making contemporary adult indie rock and roll.  While that may be how they see themselves, there’s a lot more to the band and All It Takes To Ruin It All adds so much more to the band’s identity.

 
Facebook | Twitter