JOHN - Nocturnal Manoeuvres Review
How to describe this album? Well, it is a mighty Sonic boom, it is brutal, savage, reflective, and obviously loud. It pummels your ears, your mind and certainly blows the cobwebs away to the point you can barely catch a breath, it is a really powerful listen.
Today (8th October 2021) JOHN have dropped their new album “Nocturnal Manoeuvers”. It is the Crystal Palace duos third album, and is a collaborative release via their own imprint, Pets Care, and Brace Yourselves Records.
“Return to Capital” eases us into the album nicely, the notes reverberating clearly, reminiscent of church bells, the track slowly builds, very much like a journey into a busy city centre in the early morning, you start seeing more and more life, more noise until you are in the middle of a stampede. It is brutal in its minimalism. Just as the last note fades we are thrown full-force into the mighty and savage “Šibensko Powerhouse”, which also features Adam Devonshire of IDLES on backing vocal duty, (this is the only mention of them I am going to give of them here, that unjust comparison is both lazy and unfounded!!) which has been my ear worm all week, gravelly, catchy vocals, a pounding drum-beat and a dizzying amount of riff-changes, it is a sonic smack in the chops.
“A Song For Those Who Speed Up In Built Up Areas” has an hypnotic sway, with an almost tribal drum beat, distorted layered vocals from both Johns, a healthy dash of heavyweight riffs and a riptide of feedback. “Haneke’d” starts with a wail of distortion and bores its way into your cranium with its pounding beat and vicious guitar hooks. “Austere Isle” momentarily lulls you in thinking it is going to slow the pace down, but yet again we have a really powerful performance from percussion and gnarly guitar riffs, and lyrics delivered with what can only be described as anger. “Jargoncutter” again deceives the listener things are going to slow down, with a ten second intro that is fairly slow tempo, lurching suddenly and plunging you into another sonic wall of percussion and grinding guitars and wild tempo changes, in which they explore language and corporate culture via the medium of misremembering the childhood tongue twister of “she sells seashells on the seashore”.
“Stadium Of No” is a shining example of post-hard-core, and ends as abruptly as it starts, with a bang. It is a shrewd depiction of current social observations, John Newton says of the track: “In parallel to the recurring motif of twenty-four hour work that runs throughout the album’s track listing, stadiums appear as hopelessly redundant monuments when they’re empty – only activated by the bodies that inhabit them. The song’s a nod to the often-overwhelming conditions of our present: a stadium-like crowd of opinions trying to shout on top of one another.”
“Power Out For The Kingdom” has a very bleak, almost ominous air, again it showcases another hypnotic drum-beat, and some really effective guitar effects, which really fuse together to create a palpable, atmospheric tension. “Northwood Turret” is raucous, yet melodious from the off, “Ham fisted, like a brick” they snarl. Yikes. Closing song “Nonessential Hymn” doesn’t let the pace slow down any, it is a six and a half minute punk-cacophony, more of the eponymous fast paced drums, wailing guitars and the growling, gravelly vocals, it is not for those with a weak constitution, the tempo changes frequently and yet again evidences that for 2 people, they can literally raise the roof. In their own words,
“The simplicity of the line-up and the maximal energy of the performance tends to create an interesting contrast, focusing on how our limitations create something truly idiosyncratic, “Newton observes. “Throughout our journey as a duo, we’ve gradually recognised the limits of our bodies, but have–of course–pushed to see how we can develop within these valuable restrictions. This album is a real testament to that approach.
How to describe this album? Well, it is a mighty Sonic boom, it is brutal, savage, reflective, and obviously loud. It pummels your ears, your mind and certainly blows the cobwebs away to the point you can barely catch a breath, it is a really powerful listen. Out of the ten tracks on the album, in my opinion, seven are heavyweight enough to have been singles, it is a riotous ride indeed.
JOHN are currently on tour- due to some issues some dates have been rescheduled, I definitely think these guys are ones to go and check out live if you are able.
Tickets and tour dates can be found at https://www.songkick.com/artists/152179-john