NI

A funny funky lovely outfit we must love, their name is NI.

Obviously reminds me a rough rumbling sound tough like Primus or Cardiacs (less pop though). Aggressive. Brutal. Crazy. Delightful. Enjoyable. And a bit disorderly through their sound structure. But every single musical space launched by NI is great indeed. They squeeze sound gems and garbage both again and again from the beginning till the end. Such a violent attack can give us a huge comfort. Cannot help melting completely, via their terrific heaviness and speedy bullet launcher named "Non".

Anyway, what's "Carl Lewis"? A super runner or not? Cannot imagine Carl's cheetah-y speed killa but his eccentric skip or rolling like a stone or hopping on one foot. Even heavy riffs surprise us and make us smile. Yes their play is pleasure itself, even if which title they'd chosen and how heavy they'd played. The same touch can be felt in the following track "Marquage Culotte" or "El Gringo", flooded with post-punk-ish heaviness and quirky voices, and fantastically jazzy percussive knocking dances. Cannot dance to their songs that have ugly (sorry) rhythmic structure, but may shake ourselves without any intention.

30 minutes should be given for their EP, filled with post-punk / aggressive avantgarde explosion. Anyway, the last track "Grand Barbier" is a horror seasoned with symphonic horrible aura and funky phrase / voices "We are the knights who say NI!", and dramatic cool "Red" Crimson-ish post rock. Listen and laugh to one of their masterpieces.

The 2nd eponymously titled EP by ni (emphatically NOT capitalized) came out two years after the debut and continues their frenetic avant-prog zaniness and takes it to new levels. While the first EP established the freaks from the Rhône-Alpes region of France as a seriously dangerous proggy noise band that is sure to please all connoisseurs of complex yumminess, this second EP takes all those elements and adds a heightened sense of daring experimentation with vocals and more stylized compositions that break free from the all-bombast-all-the-time mostly present on EP #1. While there is over-the-top bombast in ample doses throughout this slightly longer offering that hosts an additional track over the debut, this one too has more placid, even hypnotic segments that spring up when least expected.

While the funk guitar plays a role as on the debut, it doesn't dominate quite as much with more metal sounding riffs cranking out as well as pure avant-prog angularities and Ruins-esque type heavy zeuhl madness. The vocals take on various shades including blood- curdling screams to more smooth utterances as well as playful "dolphin chirps". As far as i can tell, the lyrics are totally nonsensicle. Somewhere between the two self-titled releases i do believe that ni (emphatically NOT capitalized) discovered the zany wacky world of fellow countrymen PoiL as they begin to delve into some of the same silliness that those guys are known for. It is a welcome advancement as it makes the musical approach much more diverse than on the debut which i already found exhilaratingly exciting.

EP #2 is also graced with psycho-grooves which would be perfect for a totally schizoid dance floor as it's quite rhythmic albeit in odd time signature bundles that somehow form musical chains of noise that simultaneously straddle the angular otherworldly adventurism of avant-prog while coalescing into digestible punk infused chunks that crank out as pockets of rhythm. As with the debut, #2 is chock full of nerdy math rock start / stop staccato riffs as well as the sudden breaks into bizarre meanderings into psychedelia or just plain experimental weirdness. ni (emphatically NOT capitalized) display a firm sense of command of their carefully calculated journey into the quantum level of musical creation and seem to have birdlike honing talents to navigate in unison like a swarm of locusts. As with the debut, this one teeters on the tightrope act of complete noisy chaos and accessible grooves. Recommended.

3.5 stars. That cover art is pretty hilarious. This is NI's second release and like the first it's an EP. This one is from 2012 and is 29 minutes long with five tracks. A four piece of two guitarists, bass and drums, they play a frantic style of music that is mathy and punkish. They do bring to mind some of those Japanese bands like RUINS and KOREKYOJINN for their stop on a dime then play at fast levels that are both complex and noisy. This is not for everyone. I get tired listening to this.

I wondered why I had both of their EPs but not any of their three studio albums. That doesn't make sense to me other than the EPs came first, and so this is where I got off the bus I suppose. In hindsight the shorter releases are a blessing. This band is also involved with a band called PINOIL where they joined forces with the band POIL, and worked both of their band names in there. "Non" might be the best example of the music I'm talking about here. It opens and ends with a scream and in between a lot of noisy and mathy, avant music.

"Gringo" is better as they slow it down at times. The bass is great after 4 minutes and we get a heavy ending. "Grand Barbier" surprisingly has some jazzy moments to start and later on. Grinding guitar before 2 minutes and some contrasts on this one. "Marquage Culotte" builds quickly and we get some vocal expressions. Big bass at 2 1/2 minutes as the guitar cries out. "Carl Lewis" is the longest song of course, they had to fit his big ego in there I guess. Some spoken words early and heavy drums before it kicks in hard.

I like this better than the first EP, but of the three bands I mentioned earlier I prefer POIL and their work with that Japanese artist. More my speed.