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  • Genre:

    Rock

  • Label:

    Relapse

  • Reviewed:

    May 2, 2016

Nothing may have roots in the hardcore scene, but they’ve reinvented themselves as one of the most promising acts in the shoegaze revival movement. The quartet’s appealing combo of chugging guitars and woozy hooks straddles the line between mordant metal-gaze and reverb-laden noise pop. If the previously-shared singles from their upcoming album Tired of Tomorrow“Vertigo Flowers,” “ACD (Abcessive Compulsive Disorder,” and “Eaten by Worms”—serve as any indication that the band’s doubling down on this juncture, then their latest track “The Dead Are Dumb” confirms it. It’s a lush ballad that gestures with arms spread wide; on one hand, there’s the romantic sweep of Chapterhouse and company, while the other raises up the grungy palette of the Philadelphians’ past few releases.

On the surface, “The Dead Are Dumb” sounds like a delicate shoegaze slow-jam. Domenic Palermo’s whisper drifts atop a skeletal dirge, punctuated by the toll of mournful guitars; once they hit the chorus, those lone-wolf strums blossom into wave after rippling wave of textured chords. As romantic as it sounds, however, the song’s mired in darkness and isolation. Palermo’s slurred croons obfuscate a growing sense of existential dread and mounting nihilism: “All our words are wasted/Never fails to fail me,” he sighs. By song’s end, he’s stuck in a “loathing phase,” fighting back the urge to take it out on himself. But every good ballad has a silver lining, and Nothing brighten the mood with some valuable awareness: “Self-inflicted pain/I’d never/Oh, I’d never.” Nothing may be in love with the misery, but they’ve got bigger concerns than just moping around.