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| No ChoiceDry River Fishing2004 No Idea 
 Review by: FortyMinutesWest See others by this writer ![[staff]](/images/icons/staffsticker.gif){kind=icon}
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Published on June 4th 2004 Bands like this remind me that there's still something to be said. There's a lot of shit going down in the world right now, and yet so many bands have nothing of value to say about the way things are right now. Just take a look at the latest Casualties album and you'll see a lot of broad sloganeering and dull, uninteresting music to go with it. However, with "Dry River Fishing," UK's No Choice have managed to get there point across while playing some engaging punk rock. With a press release boasting comparisons to bands such as Bad Religion, Hüsker Dü, and Naked Raygun, you'd better be good. Luckily for No Choice, they do an admirable job of blending their influences into a stellar full-length. Originally released in the UK on the appropriately named Newest Industry, "Dry River Fishing" is proof that melodic punk rock can still be relevant, intelligent, and above all else extremely enjoyable to listen to. I knew right off the bat that this album would be politically motivated when the first track opened up with a soundbite of our very own fearless leader, George Dubya Bush. I was really hooked on this release from the moment the music started,and as the record came to an end, I quickly pushed play again. The music mostly keeps a melodic, yet urgent tone. The guitar playing is fairly straight ahead, but there are different tricks tossed in as well. It's not exactly Bob Mould, but it still keeps the music from sounding too plain. The vocal harmonies are done tastefully, while they make the songs memorable, they're never overdone or tacky. Lyrically, as I stated earlier, the band treads a mostly political path. As show by this passage in the album's opening track: "and this, your cause of which you speak in pious tongue has one conclusion. You call it just-I call it control. Some games hold fortune. Some claim illusion as an art. This game you play-controls our senses." As far as melodic punk albums go, it really doesn't get a whole lot better than this. Catchy, but not overbearing, political, but not preachy, everything on this release seems to be at just the right level. No Choice could get even better with a little more development of their song writing ability, so it should be interesting to see how they progress. People who liked this also liked:           Please login or register to post comments. What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?
Gagz!!!??? i saw them in chicago and they totally blew me away....they were incredible live, i bought the album and its amazing, really tunefull and powerful. Politically, they say what others cant put into words, havent got the 7" yet tho' its supposed to be really fuckin' good, andy. this band's been around since the early 80s, so i can forgive the riff on one of these songs that sounds like one from "pandora's box" by leatherface Husker Du also went through some pretty drastic changes. I mean, compare Land Speed Record to Warehouse. I'm pretty disappointed that the Fay Wray 10" isn't sold out yet. Only 304 pressed and it's not out of print yet? What the fuck is wrong with you people? GET THAT SHIT! On a slitly related note, its always obvious whent hings arn't selling on no idea. Look ate the NIR number, if its below 100 and the LP is still on first press, then its really isn't selling and most likly won't for a long time. The most obvious is Tried from now on NIR 034, made in 96 and still on first press with a run of 1,100. I really am that bored to type that out. i'm gonna kill my myself But his solo stuff and Sugar don't fall under the umbrella of Husker Du. If you read the review, I say the press release name drops Husker Du et al. I was picking out elements that remind me of Husker. i.e. the quirky harmonies and some of the riffs. i'm going to have to agree with BSD on this one. Husker Du is far too complex to name-drop without mentioning an era. even bob mould changed in the way he sang from the early days to his solo stuff... I have only heard this mp3, but it is fucking incredible. "Husker Du is the new Joy Division when it comes to namedropping in reviews." I'd say Everything Falls Apart era or the more straight forward (relatively speaking, of course) songs on Zen Arcade. The guitar doesn't have that same wall of sound feeling, but some of the vocal harmonies, drum intros, and riffs remind me of Husker Du. I'm not saying they're a dead ringer for any of the bands I mentioned, but the influence is fairly apparent. Great review and a great album. Well Joy Division and Husker Du don't have one set sound. By Husker Du do you mean "Everything Falls Apart"? "Zen Arcade"? "Candy Apple Grey"? I know I've been a little rough on you in the past, but I'm not targetting you or anything, it just seems these comparisons are lazy and undermine the diversity of the artist. There's nothing wrong with comparing bands if they actually sound alike. Next time I'll try to reference someone more obscure. Husker Du is the new Joy Division when it comes to namedropping in reviews. when i first saw this i thought it was for No Trigger. but now i see that it isnt them. anyway, the mp3 here is pretty cool. Seeing the No Idea logo and hearing "Naked Raygun" made me think of Radon. This doesn't sound exciting at all. how does this full length compare to their 7" split with fifth hour hero? I like this record. For a band of their era they sound quite modern. Good stuff. Finally i agree with Forty.....by the way i saw A Wilhelm Scream yesterday and they werent as great as everyone said ..... part of the reason was bc the mic was fucked up i saw this band with against me a few months ago. lets just say that you couldn't understand a word the singer said. to bad i didn't buy this record at the show....not. Eh. It's great until it gets sorta boring after two listens. The songs can get sort of drawn out and the dude's voice can get annoying. I personally havent touched this much since I got last summer, but its by no means horrible. |
