Nonagon - The Last Hyrdronaut EP

It's time for some Nonagon again...visited with them March of last year with their People Live Everywhere EP. Back then I had this to say, "These guys don’t fuck around when it comes to their music and play their instruments like they go to sleep with them every night. The music is furious but it’s not angry at all." I stand by those statements and second them on this latest release, it seems like they've spent some time sharpening their blades. He's the blurb from their page, "Nonagon is a raucous, three-piece, music concern from Chicago that’s been playing together since the early-to-mid aughts. We play a collection of loud, short songs with varied time signatures and unconventional hooks." It goes on to say, "We occasionally find ourselves compared to the likes of Fugazi, Jawbox, Naked Raygun, Drive Like Jehu, The Jesus Lizard, etc… all of which is deeply flattering but makes some sense given our influences and vintage." I've never met John (Vox, Guitar), who has been my contact for the band these two times, but I have tremendous respect for him, the band and the label. He sent me a note in between albums talking about this new label that they and another band, The Austerity Program (whom I have yet to hear) had come up with, Controlled Burn Records, as the label they were, Hydra Head, on went kaput. Shouldering that burden to further your creative output is commendable. Speaking of commendable, this EP is a masterpiece, in everything except it's not long enough.  This is proof again that the Midwest (Chicago) is on fucking fire musically. Let's begin at my usual starting point, I'll be damned if we don't have another killer piece of art for a cover, at the hands of Robert (Bass, Vox).  It's almost as though it's telling you that the music is that of a doomed man.  The band though is not doomed, they are very much alive and kicking.  Kicking hard like Tony's (Drums) bass drum, that shit is all over the place.  I've had drummers tell me that when checking out other drummers, the first thing they do is see what their doing with their kick...Tony knows how to use his kick.  Robert's right there with him on the bass, noodling up and down those fat ass strings, making fat ass sound.  As far as John, I can't tell what I like better his guitar or his voice, lets just call it a toss up.  He knows the perfect times to either play a chord or pluck a sting and even though the music isn't hyper fast grindcore/power violence, he is playing a hell of a lot of notes.  I just love the vocals, like I said before, not angry, more pleading, like a man making his peace before getting eaten by sharks. You can catch these guys at their Web Site, their Facebook, or their Bandcamp. I believe the album is already available digitally, but you can pre-order, for a 10/22 release, at their label Controlled Burn Records. My absolute favorite tune, John really belts it out, is called "Elvis"... [audio mp3="http://mustard-relics.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Nonagon-The-Last-Hydronaut-04-Elvis.mp3"][/audio]

...a couple more via Soundcloud...

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