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43. Tired of Tomorrow - Nothing (2016)

Rock

There’s a remarkable dichotomy between Nothing’s rough Philadelphia roots and the magnificently calculated restraint they exercise on Tired of Tomorrow, which established them as a shoegaze act worthy of they praise the album garnered for them. Nothing’s brand of shoegaze is especially intriguing within an intrinsically compelling genre, seemingly occupying spaces traditionally interpreted as being mutually exclusive (ie. heavy/airy, soothing/disturbing). Nothing explore these dualities quite adeptly on Tired of Tomorrow.

There’s a perfectly-calibrated feel to the album. It comes from a well-mediated meeting of hardcore sensibilities and minimal thinking. These metal influences which underpin the band’s musicianship as well as the pacing and structure of much of the album are met with an equally forceful impulse to strip away all of the fat, rendering an elegant skeleton that doesn’t mosh so much as waltz. Even the heavier stanzas of the album feel far off and lightweight, with crashing cymbals maintaining a disorienting din beneath which guitars can churn away without overpowering. Domenic Palermo’s vocals float delicately above the fray with a mesmerizing, lullabic quality which only ceases to soothe when the lyrics themselves are actively attended to, which, given their clever positioning within the arrangements, is almost always optional. The grittiness one might expect from a group of Philly-natives with Hardcore roots is really only identifiable here, in the lyrics, which are often desolate, disturbing and replete with despair, as the album’s title would suggest. But these themes are attended to with maturity and tact and never feel adolescent or amateurish. It’s a very sad album that somehow makes you feel better.

*image; cover art for the album Tired of Tomorrow by Nothing