Nous (loosely translated as Common Sense) is from Spain and refers to itself as an "underground" band, as opposed to a punk band or anything else. They consist of three brothers from Madrid but the main driving force appears to be the youngest of the trio, Chano Barrera, who plays guitar, sings, writes the songs and does most of the non-musical elements pertaining to the band as well--a busy person indeed.

I think the use of "underground" fits nicely as Nous would not be considered a punk band, nor would they be thought of as an out and out rock band. They straddle the two genres, with songs occasionally veering more into one kind of sound over the other and then switching back again. Some bands can make this kind of approach work and Nous seem to be able to follow this through without it seeming as if they don't know who or what they want to sound like.

There are two definite things that come to mind when I listen to this album: firstly, the vocals and occasionally the music make me think of Coffin Break, whose album Crawl is still a favorite of mine. Secondly, Chano also has the ability to sound a bit like Kurt Cobain, although I don't think this is a deliberate ac,t but it's definitely what I hear at times throughout the album.

Musically, the production offers a thick and meaty rocky quality with Chano's lead guitar work featuring significantly on a number of tracks. The vocals are all in English and whilst I do tend to prefer bands to sing in their native tongue, I do also admire those who are proficient enough to write and sing songs in a second language.

I've been enjoying this album from the first play and I'm confident that I'll continue to find it appealing in the future. It might not be groundbreaking or earth-shattering but it's got something about it that makes it an enjoyable listen.

If you want a couple of tracks to focus on to see what the band are all about then I'd suggest "Shoot The Freak", "In My Eyes" and their cover of the Simon and Garfunkel version of the Peruvian folk song, "El Cóndor Pasa." I'm also quite partial to the instrumental "Intruder" as well--it just sounds good.