The fact of the matter is that neither record has been officially released and I thus haven't heard the entirely of either despite substantial internet leakage. But the headline remains the same - a new record each from NoMeansNo and Uz Jsme Doma, the first in four and seven years respectively. May 2010 will see more great, new music than the previous several years. Hallelujah. Let's take a closer look at these two musical powerhouses, shall we?
Canada's so-called "punk jazz" (might I suggest "smirking nihilo-prog"?) trio NoMeansNo really are about as dark as it gets, despite the deceptively goofy gloss, writing yo-ho-ho anthems for the Dionysian apocalypse brewing in the heart of every mustached suburban minivan dad. Read the lyrics kids, this really is as good as you're going to get this side of Steely Dan. Musically, they've found a way to squeeze the entire spread of regional punk dialects into a single sound that, let's be honest, doesn't sound like anything else at all - just because the guy can play bass really well doesn't mean that they actually sound like the Minutemen, thank you. The "guy" I refer to is, of course, bassist and primary songwriter Rob Wright, the most operative of three creative personalities in the band that helps construct their dynamic inhale-exhale tension. 2000's "One" album, like most NoMeansNo records, focused on Rob's ponderous anomalies to breathtaking results, but perhaps the utterly unjust lukewarm reviews it received pushed the followup, 2006's "All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt", more heavily into the realm of songs written by drummer John Wright and guitarist Tom Holliston, resulting in a slightly sub-par (but nonetheless spiritually overwhelming) record centered around the punkier sensibilities of these latter two. Whatever, it's a really good record - they're ALL really good records. And yes, 30+ years into their career, they still lay it down with balls - they've been opening their sets with the new tune "Old", a good 'n ugly dirge that completely confounds audiences and seems to suggest the boys have discovered Candlemass, or at the very least dusted off the sloggier Sabbath. Other new songs seem mixed - "Jubilation" is brutal lyrically but reaches too far into pop for dissonant juxtaposition to retain its edge; "Slave" seems gleefully nasty. We'll see how the production treats the material - "Tour EP #1" is the name of the new four song 12" due shortly, to be followed by another EP later this year.
The Czech prog-punkers Uz Jsme Doma are the opposite of NoMeansNo on a few counts - first, with the 2001 departure of founding saxophonist Jindra Dolansky, they've been reduced to a one-man compositional show, balanced strictly around the creative forces of Miroslav Wanek. As such, they've really served to maintain a singular sound through their entire 25 year career, with each record acting as a new capitulation of their singular sonic statement. The good news for the world is that this is statement is incredibly rich, with some of the most extensive and subtle melodic nuance imaginable for a four-piece rock band. Seriously, the volume of musical ideas per song is baffling, with sheer melodiousness underpinning even the most abstract and technical of arrangements. (For more on this great band, check out their Wikipedia article here, but be warned that I wrote the thing.) The new album is called "Jeskyne", due out in mere days. The material seems to be on a par with their best work, utilizing the muscle of spectacular new bassist Pepa Cervinka and the fiery brass of trumpeter Adam Tomasek while reducing the compositional ambition a hair from the career high represented in 2003's "Rybi tuk", their most recent effort. The songs are, of course, as achingly gorgeous as ever, with the threat of an ugly turn lurking around the corner of every hook. The seamlessness of bliss into gloom - it's a metaphor, kids, and it's an idea that both bands happen to excel at expressing. Take notes and compare it to your own experiences.
To the extent that rock music can influence one's non-musical perspective, these two bands have loomed over my outlook towards the world for some time now. Neither of them puts out records too often, and I'm excited to have a stab at new music from them both for the first time in a long time. If I have anything to add to this anticipatory synopsis after hearing the actual records, I will post it here. Meanwhile, if you're uninitiated into either of these groups, spend some time on YouTube and whet your appetite - but in both cases, the real way to experience the band is through a thorough investigation into the entirety of their respective back catalogues. Each has made a profound statement through the whole of its output, creating a dynamic body of work stronger as a whole than even the strongest of its single parts can indicate. I'm quite excited that both of these singular statements are still being expanded upon.
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