None More Org

Flash Back “Crack in the Mirror”

Sam: Flash Back are the only nu metal revival band that matters. While lesser acts are aping the bad and boring melodies of deep cut Linkin Park and similarly sick acts are spelunking through the history of electronic music to build brand new bonkers soundscapes, Flash Back are playing the exact brand of nu metal that rocks most: straight faced very corny rap-rock. It probably helps that members are getting their true heavies out via Stepping Stone, but the comfortably mid-tier agro vibes are a welcome respite from the deathcore-laden sounds of some of their like-minded revivalists (which also rock). Nothing makes me feel like a worse person than constantly being shocked that something this good is coming from Saskatchewan.

Josiah: Seems weird for Sam to pick a band that I showed him (that, to be fair, Mark Teo showed me) but such is the cross that an influencer must bear. This band is sick as all hell, but I do wonder if they’ve sipped a little too much self-parody juice to really blow the fuck up. Bands like Turnstile and Angel Du$t get away with the wackiest sounds because they do so with a stone-cold stare, while this video might lean too much into remember the noughties nostalgia. Don’t get me wrong, I love playing videogames in a church basement. But does the zeitgeist?

Down Memory Lane “Picture Perfect

Sam: Not letting Josiah out of this month with only great songs he’ll love, so here’s a band that is both super Fest and super Quebecois just for him. Listen to those accents. Tres bien! This mixes some classic No Use For a Name-style EpiFat vibes (not super Fest) with the pop-noodles of A Wilhelm Scream (maximum Fest), and I naturally think it’s great. I bet this band loves the Fullblast and Heartsounds, which is cool because I love those bands, too. I bet we’d be friends if we played the same venue at Pouzza Fest. Maybe we’d hang out on the Foufs back patio and get late night pizzaghetti. Oh my god I miss shows.

Josiah: Damn it even has Fest-style cover art where it looks like both tattoo flash art and a free Adobe Flash game that is probably a virus. This definitely sounds like EpiFat to me, and it’s hilariously thin. I love how the covers section on our pod achieves a thicker sound with fake drums. IDK this is pretty good but I want to hate it because of the last two Sam sentences.

JONNY "Set Your Aim"

Josiah: Gonna level with you — I haven’t listened to this entire thing yet. But I know it’s going to be incredible. Why? Because my little (middle) brother is both ridiculously prolific and scary talented. He released a fantastic instrumental record as Branches earlier this year, but real Hughes heads know the best shit is his dance pop music. This is his first pop album in TEN YEARS and it sees him change his name from Jonny Dylan Hughes to just JONNY. And having helped out with advice on the demos, I know this is some peaceful electronic pop that scratches the M83/Notwist itch that we all have inside of us whether we know it or not.

Sam: Well I have listened to the whole thing and Josiah is right. This makes me feel like it’s ten years ago and I’m at a sparsely-attended festival at Fort York that I’m only at because everyone I know got free wristbands and even though I intended to just drink and talk shit I’m suddenly in love with someone. That someone is JONNY.

ClayneCast

Josiah: Of course, family is not just blood. Family is also the weirdos who you are trapped in a group DM with. And in my case, that’s Globe Hell Warning/Loudness Wars guru Drew, Chapo FYM streamer Tom_On_Here and former The Voice guest host Nate Ruess. Those three have started a new podcast that is supposedly an episode-by-episode breakdown of the Lethal Weapon TV show (named for the series’ Clayne Crawford, who was fired from the show after fighting with basically everyone constantly), but as you can imagine it’s a lot more chaotic and insane. And keep in mind Nate’s being doing stuff like this while simultaneously working on a collaboration with Young Thug. 

Sam:  I’m not going to listen to an entire podcast episode just for Josiah / this newsletter but I did start this one and right off the top Nate calls the song he lost his second Grammy to “the racist Lorde song,” which I think is a highly reductive reading of Lorde’s cheeky introduction to the world. Combing through fun. lyrics to look for problematic instances; will report back next week.