Plenty of groups over Japan take cues from the current wave of British rockers clogging up the NME, but NONONO finds an excellent way of standing out besides having a name like NONONO. See, this trio figured out the best way to grab attention from the other English-aping acts was to not really sound like they were aping any English acts. So yes…the start of NONONO’s new song “Time Out” sounds like a deadringer for Foals, the precisely timed guitars and drums even going as far as to sound eerily similar to “Balloons. Yet only seconds later, one of the guitars gets a little more messy, and the track starts unraveling a bit. It’s not a mess, but it also doesn’t sound like it was mapped out on paper in great detail before either. Better yet, NONONO know (sorry) to keep “Time Out” fresh by shifting gears completely midway through, turning the song into a mournful waltz complete with slight guitar freakouts and howly vocals. Oh, and they fly off the path one more time after that. Keepin’ us on our toes, I see.
Listen here. Also check out the song “She’s Slutty,” which isn’t all that slutty but still solid.