No Sleep More Fun by Theselah (Review)
Like any other album in the indie-emo genre, don’t listen to this when you’re at one of those times in your life that you realize how worthless you are and how meaningless life is. The artwork on this album may alude to the album itself somewhat. Imagine a dark green canopy of color with streaks of lightness exposing themselves every so often. Then, across this vacancy is spread the outlines of all kinds of strange and grotesque characters.
The first track, “Nothing Special,” timidly taps on the door of our minds, and having not gained entrence, it sits outside morose and alone. It’s lounge music for the common kid. It’s a jazzy emo-pop. Heavy on the heart, easy on the ears, as long as those ears haven’t been in one of those win-lose romances recently — “I’d guess you were nothing special/Though I wanted you like nobody else.” “Green-Blue Canyon” sounded a lot better on that “Kid A” album, but is remade well on this disc. “Bad-Ass HiFi” on the other hand, is some real hard sh*t! Hello ’80s metal riffs! Hello feedback! Where’s my whammy bar? That’s some BAD ass HiFi!!
Relax my yuppy treehuggers. The madness does cease. “Uryne” is definitely a winner. Welcome back the overdrive, even drum beats, and introducing the echoed vocals effect! But at least the word “supine” can be found in the lyrics. Look it up kids. “Anna Come Out” and “Lazy Dresser” continue the more peaceful, tempered indie emo trend. The only thing that I can complain about on these pieces is the lyrics, or the lack thereof. True, they are poetry, but short at that and it’s somewhat difficult to follow when just listening to the quiet, laidback vocals. On these tracks the guitar seems to be the primary songwriter and everything else is just the supporting instruments. “Take It Fast Or Take It Slow” takes us back to wondering where on earth these guys are from. Think At The Drive-In, add some lo-fi bass-driven groove somewhat similar to Fugazi’s Repeater+3, and you’ll just about have it. This has to be the most fascinating track on this album, lyrically. It appears as if it was written when someone was tripping.
For the “Rooks Derisious” please refer back to “Green-Blue Canyon.” Only this time, add more of that jazziness that we found in “Nothing Special.” “Anthem of the K.O.A.” reminds me of this band on Tooth & Nail called The Deadlines. Why does this track remind me of The Deadlines? This is Vampire Rock, shaken, not stirred. Yum yum, drink up! And you gotta love the lyrics, which consist of the band screaming “K O A” over and over again. Which makes me wonder, if they’ve ever stayed at K.O.A. campgrounds, and if they went because it’s Yogi Bear’s campground. I think so.
This wonderment of an album ends with a “Little Song To Self” which is just that. A little guitar. A little voice. A little sentiment. If you’re not an emotional person, that’s okay. Just listen and try to understand that some people have had it hard and the way they express themselves is through emotion. Whether that emotion is conveyed in music or not is up to each individual. If it appeals to you to listen to that emotion in music, this may be your boat. But don’t just take my word for it. Just try throwing your arms in the air and exclaiming “THESELAAAAAH!” and see how it feels.
Written by Tricia Krull.