REVIEW BY:: BACK2FRONT
Nomatrix:
"Ugly" CD (Dead Lamb). New album from this Irish trio. What you
get is a mixed bag of original compositions which have a curious
late 70's/early 80's feel to them. Some tracks ere better than
others particularly the faster ones though there is a tendency
towards an Americanized sound if you know what I mean, There is
obviously a song-writing talent here but I think it could be
more refined and delivered with more energy. The disc comas with
minimal artwork and lyrics. (DO)
REVIEW BY::
Nomatrix - Ugly
Ungestüm
ballern NOMATRIX los. Der Sound klingt stumpf, die
Rhythmusgruppe agiert nicht immer sicher, aber immer schnell.
Der Gesang liegt oft neben der Spur. Das ist Punk, da müssen
drei Akkorde reichen. Mit "Ugly" bringt die irische Band das
Genre zurück zu den Wurzeln. Wild und schwitzend, hässlich und
unrasiert. Da darf auf Konzerten eine ordentliche Bierdusche
nicht fehlen. Diese 16 Songs sind ein klarer Fall für Puristen.
(32:03) (4) (Arne Koepke)
© by OX-FANZINE / Ausgabe 72
(Roughly Translated to English)
The sound sounds blunt, the group of rhythms acted not always safe, but always fast. The singing often lies beside the trace. That is Punk, there must three chords hand. With “Ugly” the Irish volume brings the category back to the roots. Wildly and sweating, ugly and unrasiert. There a tidy beer shower may not be missing on concerts. These 16 Songs are a clear case for purists. (32:03) (4) (Arne Koepke) © by OX-FANZINE / Ausgabe 72
NOMATRIX
Irish
punk rockers NOMATRIX has a part on their website wholly
dedicated to food and drinks. It even has a recipe for the
signature NOMATRIX-cocktail. That’s cute.
But please lads, spend a little less time behind the cocktail
bar and some more in rehearsal space.
What “Ugly” has to offer, shows some potential. NOMATRIX mixes
up older punk with American pop punk. A pretty fresh approach,
somewhat – very distantly- related to, say, very old Face to
Face. But I must say that no band in that genre will ever reach
to the heels of the almighty Face to Face.
Also, guitarist/lead singer John’s vocals are fine. At some
points anyway. At others he’s as off key as Cher without vocal
enhancing technologies.
I gotta give credit to them wanting to keep things fairly
simple, with basic riffs, basic drums, no wannabe-stadium
rock-punk like Green Day’s last (though great) effort. But
recording wise, “Ugly” just narrowly passes the demo quality.
For now, I’ll just stick to Guinness and various whiskies as my
favourite export-product from Ireland.
Score: 4.5
Christophe www.MunchkinMusic.be and www.PunkRockTheory.com
Katzilla
KSCU 103.3 (The Underground Sound)
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA
United States
Nomatrix - Ugly
I always appreciate hearing punk bands from other
countries cuz the music is frequently more authentic and
individual, and less influenced by the trend of the
moment. Ireland's Nomatrix did not disappoint me in this
regard. On this, their second release, they draw from a
variety of punk sub-genres, resulting in a sound that is
diverse and difficult to pin a label on. I can hear both
older hardcore bands such as Born Against and Fugazi, as
well as more recent melodic punk bands such as 88
Fingers Louie and the Dillinger Four. The music is
mostly slowed-down and fuzzy, but they occasionally up
the tempo; either way, it's rocking. Their lyrics tackle
both personal and political topics in a heartfelt,
earnest manner. Nomatrix manages to be both hard and
catchy as hell, and really, what more could you want?
RIYL: 88 Fingers Louie, Dillinger Four, Born Against,
Fugazi
Nomatrix - Ugly
Weird
stuff. Sort of half-way between Uk classic punk and Us melodic
Hardcore (ONE WAY SYSTEM meets LAG WAGON ??). The lyrics follow
the same line : some deal with love or personal issues, while
others show political concern. The fastest or most angry songs
are cool. On the whole, this is pretty good, although these
songs lack that little spark that will make me sing along in my
bedroom. I’d file them on a shelf together with bands like
EASTFIELD, WAT TYLER, or J-CHURCH. http://www.nomatrix.info (Y.B.)
Nomatrix - Ugly - Rating: 3/5
Nomatrix
are from Ireland and bring us a 16 song cd based in
punk. I only say based in cause these guys have a few
things going on here. Some of their songs are raw and
real punk. Some are really fast hardcore songs. Then
some are more of the poppy melodic type. They are able
to pull off all these styles very well. Personally I
prefer their hardcore and punk songs and would love to
hear an album of them doing those two styles. Don't get
me wrong this is a decent release.
