ok ok ok ok, So I only ever seem to write nice things about bands I like. But that's because I only write reviews for bands I like to listen to so shut your traps.
On A Hiding To Nothing first graced my earholes around February last year and you can see how much I love them playing live here.
As much as I loved them they didn't really have anything to listen to outside of hyper energetic live shows. Just a few hastily recorded samplers on Bandcamp. Nothing that the band was happy to have put their overly long name to (OAHTN from here out).
Trouble with being in a DIY punk band is that Simon Cowells cheque book is not open to you and funding has to come from somewhere if you don't have a trust fund. These gents decided to offer up an indiegogo campaign to get things going at the tail end of last year and had a pretty succesful time gathering funds from unwitting chumps ( I pledged £20). Now we get to hear the fruits of their labours and I'm pretty happy to announce that it's flipping incredible:
So Sound wise it's obvious a lot of love and attention has been given to recording this and getting it to sound just right. This is no flash in the pan demo purely sampling a live show. This is a very nicely produced affair and sits comfortably alongside anything recorded with a giant budget that might exist in my music collection. This can be divisive to some punks who like a deliberately raw sound but being that you're reading a blog with "pop-punker" in the title you likely appreciate a meticulously crafted sound.
Like any really great set of songs, from any genre this thing is layered like an onion. If you just want some excellent riffage to skate to this has got you covered with catchy hooks and double time in all the right places. It passed the "is it fun to skate to down Regent Street" test with flying colours.
The vocal melodies are sweet enough to listen to without ever having paid attention to what's being said. If you want to dig a little deeper and start listening you'll find the OAHTN sense of humour. Ever present in their stage shows and definitely part of the bands personality there is a lot to laugh about in this set of songs as long as you a free thinking individual.
That last point leads me nicely to the last layer I cared to discover in my 30 or 40 listens, and that is a scathing look at Middle Britain and the ignorance and prejudice found in this green and pleasent land. From armchair pundits to tory daily mail religionists, if you are a narrow minded, uninformed, bigoted fool then this record stands squarely in your face, points a finger and says "it aint goddamned good enough".
There really is something for everyone here and those who pledged will be greatly pleased with how their money was put to use. A worthy debut in both quality and potential for a band brimming with both.
