What an enjoyable record this was.  When something new and unannounced lands in the inbox and you’ve never heard of them or have a clue what to expect but download it anyway and find something that’s quite dark yet has a sense of uplifting joy it’s a great thing. Well, that just happened with Nadir and ‘Collecting Misery’.  I guess if I had to describe Nadir I’d say in general this three-piece from Queens would make for a great touring partner if Against Me! we’re to ask me (not that they will but hey).

Its got that big wide open space guitar rage but with some great passionate vocals from Robbie Swartwood who usually plays four strings in ‘Off With Their Heads’. The real draw for me was that bass sound, man its superb courtesy of Mike Foti it’s a real growling snarling thump he’s got going on and it drives some really good tunes.

From the get-go they are pounding it with ‘Doomed From The Start’ with infectious post-punk rage. The band carries forward the uptempo punk rock tunes through the opening few tracks with ‘Buried Above Ground’ is the best example of their harder songs.  the subject matter might be a bit heavy duty and it certainly fits the tone of the record until the title track pops up halfway through with its acoustic strum.  The beauty of the song is its bittersweet melody but you half expect it to break out and the band resists the temptation which is great and there’s an Americana feel maybe on another day you could hear someone like Brian Fallon crooning to this had he grown up on the UK Subs rather than Springsteen.  The melody is part of the same movement that brought us Beach Slang when they play quietly.

The album really finds its feet in the middle section with ‘Early Graves’ hitting it hard with its military beat thumping away behind that Bass thump for the albums high point. To be fair there are no lulls in this eight-track album and ‘Born To Die Alone’ is another gentler story they tell which really helps the flow of the album in stopping it getting boring or one dimensional.  To close off proceedings they pick it back up for one final Hoorah! as ‘Back Home’ is leaving the circle unbroken and you can easily press repeat and do it all again.  Overall a really strong record and an admirable cause. If Bad Religion or Against Me! are ever your thing then I recommend you check this out pronto.  You won’t regret it.

All profits from the sale of this record go to Save.org you can buy it Here

Author: Dom Daley