A Google of 'Novella' may confuse the lazy among you into thinking that London's Novella is also in fact Finland's Novella, or perhaps Christian rock band from the early 90s. They're not.
This Novella has been knocking around London support slots for a while, but their recent superb trio of Sonic Youth / Teenage Fanclub influenced tracks is the best the band has produced yet, each descending into grinding jams swamped in fuzzy feedback with dreamily laissez faire vocals.
Alongside Warm Brains, Not Cool, Male Bonding, Gross Magic, Yuck, Colours, Weird Dreams, Sauna Youth among others, London isn't exactly wanting for lo-fi talent, however the tracks below suggest Novella is more than able of joining the party. Catch them at 1234 in a few weeks.
London label Sleep All Day Records featured, albeit briefly, on No Action as an aside to a featurette on the magnificent Colours. We felt it only right that the label backing some of the best and brightest first city talents should garner some plaudits of its own. So here's a brief dedication, highlighted through the works of its pedigree offspring, to Sleep All Day.
Weird Dreams meld 60s London pop with Johnny Marr riffs and the result is aural heaven. Their 'Weird Dreams EP' is below, but track down Hurt So Bad as well. Weird Dreams ep by Weird Dreams
Perfect Hair Forever could well be No Action's favourite tack of the year, perfect gutter pop if ever there were such a thing. 03 Perfect Hair Forever by notcool
SAD have also gone fishing on the opposite side of the pond for their most recent output. Brooklyn's Byrds of Paradise are all discordant punk smash genius with an ear for crescendo. Barefoot Generation is out now. This is Rowena. Rowena - Byrds of Paradise by kohar
Last up, some divine dream-surf from Colours, showing the West Coast how it's done.
Offset Festival has a line-up so brimming with creative juice, the fact that tickets for the two days are still available begs the obvious question: what the hell is wrong with people?
At just 30 minutes to Hainault from central London on the sweaty cylinder more commonly known as the Central line, the locals have no excuse. A selection of the finest young musical minds (and Tim Burgess) will be proving why they could be ‘the next big thing’, so while the journey may be somewhat longer for some (or shorter, depending where you start from), entertainment is inevitable. Plus you can try Garam Guru’s revitalising Sexy Breakfast. What more could you ask for?
Here are some examples of the brilliance coming to East London.
For stand-out Offset bands you can’t look beyond Male Bonding, not only because there are 13 shoe-gazing grunge-punk reasons on their Sub Pop debut Nothing Hurts, but because the vibrancy and discordant thrill their live show offers is un-matchable. Seeing them at The Basement a few months back felt like nirvana. Or Nirvana. Choosing an example track to emphasise the point was tough, but No Action chose to look beyond the inevitable Franklin or Years Not Long to hidden gem Nothing Used To Hurt, mainly for the life-affirming drop at 1.06.
Being hyped at the start of the year as one of the BBC’s ‘Ones to Watch’ can be a burden to heavy to bear for some. One fears that Ellie Goulding may buckle within the intense media whirlwind at any moment. Egyptian Hip Hop have remained firmly under the radar but have set about crafting a fine selection of soulful tropicalia, not least on Heavenly. If the sun shines on the Saturday, Egyptian Hip Hop will definitely become your new favourite band.
London four-some Colours produce songs draped with claustrophobic reverb yet filled with vibrant melody, making for a thrilling sonic experience. While their song-naming can only be described as satisfactory (Lost Youth, The Lost Hour, Losers), there's much to love in their powerful three minute thrash. Having shared vinyl space with fellow Offset attendees Not Cool, Colours will definitely provide a Saturday treat.
Much is being said and written and loved about London’s Fiction, so let’s add to that here at No Action. The foursome conjure an addictive, restless sound, with touchstones in post-punk and new wave but without dwelling on any genre for long before it’s on to the next. Having recently released Devo-esque single Curiosity, the first ever release on Offset Recordings, the band will no doubt be seeking to impress their erstwhile employees, as well as the rest of the ECC Stage spectators on the Sunday.
Choosing a fifth and final example of why you MUST attend Offset Festival was a tricky business. It could have been Caribou’s psychedelic aural blessings, Mystery Jets’ increasingly powerful power pop, or Bo Ningen’s bombastic, 70’s rock revivalism. Instead, I can’t look beyond Brighton’s own 80’s Matchbox. Partly brought on by seeing Guy lately in the town’s unmatchable thrift / antique store Snoopers Paradise and seeing the grey streak of maturity through his otherwise raven locks, but mostly because, despite the hampered quality of their more recent output, their first two records remain throbbing, gothic treats while their live show offers the most self-destructive, gum-chewing, eye-popping spectacle No Action has ever witnessed. So for the very reason that every show may be their last, you must see 80’s Matchbox.
London four-some Colours produce songs draped with claustrophobic reverb yet filled with vibrant melody, making for a thrilling sonic experience. While their song-naming can only be described as satisfactory (Lost Youth, The Lost Hour, Losers), there's much to love in their powerful three minute thrash.
Having recently released their debut 7" on Sleep All Day Records, the band are playing a series of London dates (including a support slot with No Action favourites Spectrals at Cargo) before the July 27th release of a split EP on Marshall Teller Records alongside Not Cool, Cheatahs and Dignan Porch.
Welcome to No Action.
Based in Bow, East London, writing about stuff that sounds good.
No Action has also written for High Voltage and The Fugitive Motel.
