Nude Pube Banglers

It’s always easy to assume the worst when a band’s promo package includes a disclaimer in the first line of the press sheet. “First of all, there’s no need for silly aphorisms or profanity when writing about the Nude Pube Banglers and their brand new recording, Juggernaut. Using vulgar language would probably confuse you into believing that the band was some kind of teenage nü-metal outfit -- or even worse, a five-piece emo whining machine.” Well fuck. What the hell am I supposed to write about now?

In reality, the press bio is probably right. There isn’t a real need to try and spice this band up any more than dropping one name for comparison. No, it’s not Turbonegro, from whom the band borrowed their name. It’s DA BRONX. And maybe Gallows. Either way, you get the picture.

Nowhere is this comparison more palpable than “Suburban Kicks,” with its rough garage punk-meets hard rock grooves and distressed wails. As singer Eirik Haukur belts out, “Follow the tracks down to the city” it almost seems as if the song could transition right into the Bronx’s “White Tar” with Matt Caughtran shouting “Baby’s got cancer looking for the answer.” “Day by Day” follows as one of the more strident tracks on the disc, clocking in at just under two minutes and displaying some quality production as Haukur’s main vocals are complemented by inlaid backup shrieks that really add another dimension to the tune. Formerly a “six-piece outfit playing gothic folk rock, Vamp style” (thanks, Wikipedia), NPB starts to let their metal influences show a bit more heavily later in the album, with “No Time,” “Silence” and “Break Out,” letting loose an abundance of guitar solos and chug-metal riffing. Aside from “Suburban Kicks,” the opener “Now!” is probably the album’s best song, as it’s noticeably less indulgent in longwinded guitar soloing and doesn’t loiter for the three or four minutes that most of the tracks do.

Without taking anything away from the Nude Pube Banglers and their horribly off-putting name, the band does a wonderful take on the Bronx and have whipped up some pretty good numbers of their own on Juggernaut.