No Choice - Dry River Fishing - CD (2002)

Labels: Newest Industry
Review by: Andy Malcolm

I have a Husker Du LP somewhere, I think it is a super limited edition one, because it doesn’t fit on my turntable. It must be like, a 12.2″. When it spins, it goes “fssssssssst” and rubs against part of the player, causing the record to slow down and sound really stupid. That’s kind of frustrating. But the Hated were way better anyway. Why do I mention this irrelevant story? I am not too sure, just that this record is on a label called ‘Newest Industry’ which was appropriated from Husker Du. Indeed.

Ok, this is pretty good melodic punk rock. I do not claim to be a world leading authoritah on such a genre, but I know what I like and I like this CD far more than I dislike it. Opening track “If Logic’s First (We’re Coming Second”) is definitely the standout and gets the record off on the right foot. It’s driving, the guitars are forceful and energetic, and vocals are cranked out with a lot of spirit. When it comes to punk rock records I always put commitment and passion first, and everything else second. For the most part, No Choice sound like Annalise, with similar vocals and aggressive yet melodic tunes, played tightly with a fair bit of gusto. There are also traces of bands such as Leatherface in here, which is a fine thing in my book. Mixing up catchy hooks with crunch in equal measures.

So there you have it, a good ole honest melodic punk rock record, very British and very straight forward. No bullshit, no pretense. You know what you’re getting and if you buy this and hate it, it’s your own fault because it should be very easy to figure out if it’s your kind of thing or not before you hear it.