I’ve heard some absolute stinkers in my time, but Neon Windbreaker must have been at the back of a long, long line when they were handing out band names. Luckily, the atrocity of their moniker does not impact on the quality of their music, with the Toronto quintet playing the sort of noise rock akin to legends such as The Jesus Lizard, or more latterly the likes of Pissed Jeans/METZ, fed through a post-hardcore filter à la The Blood Brothers. This five-track EP is a chaotic, frantic burst of energy, lasting just over seven minutes, but still makes a considerable impact in its brief span.
Opener ’Jamesbud’ sets the tone with thunderous drums underlying a squall of guitar, building into a tumultuous riff over which the vocals switch from ominous bark to piercing wail. However, the release really thunders into life on ’Nails’, a relentless, malevolent beast of a track, where snarling guitars (reminiscent of Nirvana’s ‘Very Ape’ from ‘In Utero’, better known as the riff The Prodigy sampled for ‘Voodoo People’) and deliciously dischordant bass lurch menacingly throughout – the aural equivalent of a bull let loose in a china shop.
The EP’s eponymous track carries on in much the same vein as its predecessor, but relents from devolving into a similar disarray, preferring a rather unsettling groove – think Queens Of The Stone Age, if fronted by GG Allin. ’Pink Suit’ closes the EP with an uncharacteristically ordinary offering – the punk rock riff is damned catchy, but the song as a whole feels rather pedestrian in comparison, which makes it an odd choice for the lead single. However, it does not spoil a riotous offering from the Canadians – though they may be riding a little on the coattails of their fellow Torontonians METZ, Neon Windbreaker do enough on ’New Sky’ to be well-regarded in their own right. If only they’d do something about that abysmal name…
3.5/5
New Sky’ by Neon Windbreaker is available now on We Are Busy Bodies.
Neon Windbreaker links: Facebook
Words by Ollie Connors (Words by @olliexcore)
