No Use For A Name More Betterness! (1999) Fat Wreck Chords

I think, as a reviewer, one of the worst things I can do is give a band I love a bad review. I had been able to avoid this up until now, most recently dodging the new piece of trash that is the Promise Ring's "Very Emergency." But the new NUFAN CD cannot escape my attention.

Every band is entitled a bad album. No Use just used theirs up. I really can't describe the disappointment felt by listening to this album. The songs for the most part feel very uninspired, and I even heard some rework guitar licks from some of their older stuff. The layout is clever, though, and they get points for that. They cover "Fairytale Of New York" with Cinder Block of Tilt doing guest vocals, but this track only bogs down the CD even more. It might have been more appropriate for a hidden track (since the album has none, breaking a 2-album streak).

There's some acoustic parts on the CD, and some very nice orchestral stuff with a cello, but everything seems a bit bland. It's hard to swallow for me, seeing as how I'm probably one of the biggest NUFAN fans to ever exist, but I have to accept it: This album sucks.

Of course, I'll probably put it away for about 6 months, then listen to it one day while bored, and fall in love with it, but until then, I must tell all of you to, as much as it hurts me to say this, pass on the newest offering from NUFAN.

Ugh, my stomach hurts.

[taken from A different kind of greatness webzine]

(Scott)