October 23, 2013 | , | 3.5

No Sir, The Future is Bright

No Sir: The Future is Bright

I’m not in the least bit familiar with any of the bands (Creative Adult and Sabertooth Zombie) whose members have come together to create No Sir so I can’t use that as a comparison. What I can tell you is that the group’s debut effort, The Future is Bright is a pretty damned solid kick in the teeth of an album. From scathing hardcore/punk to post-rock elements and back again, the band has more than enough in the way of variety (while still maintaining a cohesive sound) for most folks to be able to find something to like.

The Future is Bright starts off with a couple of songs that honestly don’t offer much aside from a standard intro and the relatively generic (albeit ferocious) hardcore of “The Crowd.” Where things start to get interesting, however, is just after the scathing, riotous “C.A.L.I.F.O.R.N.I.A.” which by the way is a pretty solid song in its own right.

With the arrival of “Anxiety Consumption” we really have the meat of the album. The aggression is still present, but there’s also a solid measure of emotion, depression and angst present that takes the band’s music to a completely different place. It’s a sound that separates them from their peers immediately. There’s something honest about the vocal delivery that, when combined with the chunky riffage and rumbling bass, really make for something unique. The underlying tinge of melody in the mix also helps set this and the next couple of songs apart from the remainder of the album.

“I Doubt You’ll Ever Swim Again” is pretty darn aggressive, but also has some seriously infectious vocal patterns and groove flowing through it. It reminds me a bit of At the Drive-in (in terms of structure), but with a burlier more raw sound that has a twinge of a depressive influence. “Wet Worlds” forgoes the melodic moments of the previous two songs for a more off-kilter and ferocious presentation, but still has a dark vibe. “I Pushed Back, Violently” is a driving song that picks up after the drum/bass combo of “Interlude.” It’s a pretty damn ferocious song, but not quite as dynamic as the album’s middle.

The remaining trio of songs from the raging “The Baseline Percentage,” to the catchy “Bad Vibes” and album closer, “Momma I’m a Good Boy” (a song with more in common with similar to “Anxiety Consumption) wrap up the album nicely. The Future is Bright isn’t typically the type of album I go for on a regular basis, but I’m glad I took some time to sit down with it and No Sir. There’s some memorable music here that I particularly enjoyed and more than enough aggression to clench a fist and pound it against the wall along with the band.