Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Nikki Louder
Label: ZARŠ Records
Released: 2009
Rating: 3/5
The Radio Študent label has lately been seriously carpet-bombing us with alternative projectiles from all kinds of musical winds. What they all share is a certain peculiarity, a difference, almost a weirdness, where bands almost consciously wander as far as possible from anything ear-friendly and would rather pelt us with their alternative urges. Nikki Louder are no different. With Alain, I’m Sorry they’ve made their first “full-length” studio album. Much like the racer they’re named after, these guys are mostly just loud, and if I were being a bit rude, I’d say they also crash and burn from several angles.
Genre-wise, you could file Nikki Louder under grunge/noise rock. You can spot the influence of grunge godfathers like Pearl Jam, especially in the vocal melodies. Really, though, you could say Nikki Louder sit somewhere halfway between grunge and noise, where the use of distortion is way too front and center. That can hide several of the band’s weaknesses – a lack of usable ideas, a lack of musical know-how – or maybe these guys simply like being loud and enjoy experimenting with annoying sounds. Alternative farts and pops – that’s all well and good, but everything has its limit, and some people just don’t notice where it is (that happened to far bigger names than Nikki Louder – Frank Zappa too).
When the guys give in to somewhat more standard musical approaches, the whole thing comes off as downright decent. There’s an obvious lack of basic melodic elements here too, but their primal bashing is kind of charming to a degree, because they convince you that all of this really does come from deep inside them and that it’s their artistic expression. This is especially true of the singer, who has a truly unique style that you could hardly call singing, but it’s definitely interesting, and his wailing will keep you awake for a long time.
What keeps the situation from being completely bleak is the lyrics. Lyrically, Nikki Louder are, at least for me, one of the highlights of the Slovenian music scene that focuses on English-language lyrics. They describe both the battles inside people and the outside forces. As if we didn’t already have enough trouble with our own demons, external forces have to attack us too, making life harder over and over again. With this aspect they at least somewhat make up for the two-faced nature of the music, which wanders way too far into abstract territory.
In the end, it turns out Nikki Louder live up to their name. They’re undoubtedly loud. Just like a Formula 1 race, they can be seriously obnoxious on the ears, but every now and then they’re so honest in substance that the effort of listening kind of pays off. Alain, I’m Sorry won’t go down in the annals as the pinnacle of noise rock/grunge or whatever else Nikki Louder want to be filed under, but it’s a good springboard for a young band that’s still looking for the peak of its creative path. Onward to new victories!
author: Rok Podgrajšek
Lineup
Blaž Sever – guitar, vocals
Peter Cerar – bass guitar, keyboards
Luka Cerar – drums
Production
Nikki Louder
Tracklist
1. Bond addict
2. This town is a wolf
3. A minnow in the web
4. Honey, Im OK
5. The air around
6. No disko (for you, silly dancers)
7. Mirrors, mirrors
8. Sweet are the girls in Beijing
9. Charity, people!
10. She rides the cows
11. Mermaids
