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Nervöus

Konfetti & Mutwillige Zerstörung

Written by: JWM on 30/12/2013 18:52:15

Another late review for one promising German band, we are faced with the début record of Berlin based screamo five-piece Nervöus, "Konfetti & Mutwillige Zerstörung" (which translates to "Confetti & Wanton destruction"). Nervöus are a band that can be taken one of two ways, they are either just a screamo-fused harcore punk band to you or you scratch the surface to reveal a very different, very interesting group of songwriters. It starts with the Dub reggae led "Skit I" spiking your curiosity, while the gravely, punk shrieks holler behind bass and drums that have an odd two-step dub beat to them. Of course this is only before the chaotic "Im Puls" shows the screamo style of Saetia and the melodic punk of many underground contemporaries mixed with nineties hardcore vocals. "Schere.Stein.Konfetti" is the dawn of more interesting instrumentation, as Rage Against the Machine style funky bass leads the charge and teases a song break perfect for a cataclysm of bodies flying around in a mosh pit.

And it doesn't stop there, with the highly contrasting guitar chord progressions of the angry and the uplifting of "Philosymfonie" and the alternative rock melody of "Phänomen" that sounds like some kind of holy fusion of Biffy Clyro and Orchid. "Skit II" is a brilliant instrumental hip-hop song which helps give you a break from the chaotic. But then as you feel the band has settled back into their own already comfortable style in "Schwermutwillig", with an intro riff that will remind you of "Boy with No Arms" by Orchid, lead vocalist Billy Phøb throws in another curve-ball with surprisingly fluid rapping before the song finishes as it started with lurching guitars. Closer "Skit III" acts as a twisted mash up of previous songs through a radio tuner until it settles on female jazz vocals looped over a distorted and loop focused guitar and drum structure.

It's apparent that Nervöus stylistically are all over the show, and although they at times convey a level of sadness and rage they somehow manage to covey a facetious and positive attitude too. "Konfetti & Mutwillige Zerstörung" is a good collection with the pace of post-hardcore and the rageful vocals of screamo clashed against garage rock distortion and a focus on chiming melodies. And I am still undecided as to whether the record's skits are a stroke of genius or just ironic. However I feel the band- much like their listeners- has only scratched the surface of their potential.

Download: Phänomen; Empatheroine
For The Fans Of: Saetia; Death is Not Glamorous; Fucked Up
Listen: Nervöus' facebook

Release Date: 19.07.2013
Moment Of Collapse Records