Nothington "All In" Review

              

              San Francisco’s Nothington emit a graceful racket and are somewhere in the vein of music we’re used to hearing from other seminal acts that have the misfortune of apparently being dubbed “Gruff Punk” (as though this was necessary or desirable) nowadays. There is something of The Beltones, Off With Their Heads and most noticably Leatherface in their sound.

“All In” is, however, a perfect example of the way in which Nothington distinguish themselves with the more subtle approach they take to their music. They feel somewhat more radio- friendly and less aggressive than the three mentioned above in their over- arching sound despite their grizzly vocals and the despondent subject matter into which they delve. This is most likely down to the seemingly comparatively less aggressive or vitriolic form they use to present their open wounds in. in instant classics such as “Here I Stand”. There is still, though, something incredibly and tangible and heart- wrenching in their approach to song writing and production. Perhaps this is due to the fact that they don’t engage in as many guitar jaunts as Ryan Young and co. but rather prefer to present an on-going barrage of an all- together more moderate sound that lets the concepts and subject matter speak for itself. In doing this, Nothington still manage to raise our emotions sky high in their musical execution and simultaneously bring us crashing down to earth with lyrical content just like OWTH but in a way that is all their own.

                Stand- out tracks other than the aforementioned include “The Bottom Line”, “Something New”, “Awake For Days” and “Going Home”. Quite honestly, there isn’t a bad track on this album to speak of and for fans of all of the bands mentioned in my introduction I would definitely recommend this more subtle conveyance of similar emotional themes. “All In” feels somewhat like a nicely aged wine; sophisticated, strong and full of flavour despite not screaming as loud as its spirited counterparts! Somewhere between joy and sorrow is where we find ourselves and it’s a wonderful sight to behold.