No Trend - Too Many Humans
“Reality Breakdown”
Someone tell me what to do
Someone tell me what to do
Reality breakdown
No Trend came out of Maryland in the early 1980’s and at some point back there they made Too Many Humans. The band uses a bass guitar, an electric guitar, drums, some pre-recorded loops or cutups and vocals to create their sound. These guys sound pissed… at you, frankly. The band repeats one groove for the entirety of their constructs. Their “changes” are so subtle that they don’t really register as such, rather as oscillations that move farther and further away from their origins, like the Earth wobbling away on its trajectory instead of spinning. When the last song “Happiness Is…” kicks in, there’s a newscaster speaking (well ‘speaking’ in ‘newscaster’) and some sort of man saying “hmms”, a wild amount of hypnotic electric guitar and then even a few more manipulated voices. All the while, the drums just move us along real nice. By the time the record is over, the silence is welcome. Silence is repetition too.
The singing is brilliant. The themes and lyrics are intelligent and the phrasing is spot on. They’re direct, check it out:
“Too Many Humans”
Too many fucking humans
You breed like rats
And you’re no fucking better…
Yells and fits sit atop of consistent grooves and poke in and prod out, propelling the tunes forward and onward. It’s easy to label No Trend’s material as a bunch of teen rants, which of course it is, but the vision is so tightly conceived and perfectly placed. The words are like a “To Do” list for the end of your good time.
“Family Style”
Family
Supermarket
Family fitness center
Family haircut center
In trying to mess up your little fun world, No Trend is having more. But you know what? These things they sing about and sing with are real and this isn’t something to be brushed off like the pubic hairs from the rest stop toilet. The songs are what you see everyday when you hit the sidewalk and look up and around. There’s a sophistication here, that’s welcoming if you listen for it. How old was this band? I don’t really know.
The band is very funny. The song, “Kiss Ass To Your Peer Group” is awesome, saying so simply, I think, that ultimately that need to conform to expectations sinks individuality and when that happens we become the expectations of others and their view points. These guys are shooting high.
“Blow Dry”
If you can’t beat em
Join em
If you’ve never heard ‘Blow Dry’, that one moves like “Down On The Street” by The Stooges. I hear a jazz and funk influence in the rhythm section.
I can only imagine actually seeing No Trend. Call time what you must, but this record is still provocative all these years later.
Thanks,
NC
i'm not insecure.... not! This was rejected by a blog in England, so I figured I'd share it with you while I'm digging through old stuff.
