Blame the Boredom, Blame the Basements by The Nico Blues, 2010
Website: The Nico Blues
Home Base: Wayne, NJ/NYC
Genre: Alternative Rock/Indie Rock
Band Members: Eric Goldberg – Vocals, Bass, Guitar
Evan Campbell – Vocals, Guitar, Bass
Reed Adler – Lead Guitar, Bass
Danny Goldberg – Rhythm Guitar
Skylar Adler – Drums, Recording Engineer
Influenced By: Fugazi, Minutemen, Modest Mouse, Pavement, Dinosaur Jr, John Frusciante, Nirvana, Husker Du, Dr. Dog Modest Mouse, The White Stripes, The Hold Steady, Dr. Dog, Pavement, Dinosaur Jr., The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Built to Spill, Pink Floyd
Sounds Like: Post-alternacore folkfunk(I think I might disagree with the folkfunk part! Editor)
Bio. The Nico Blues is an alternative rock band from New Jersey.
Their debut album, Blame the Boredom, Blame the Basements was recorded, produced, and mixed by the band in a studio they built from scratch. This album was recorded, produced, and mixed by the band in their home studio.
The Nico Blues are influenced by rock, folk, and punk bands from the 1950’s to 2010. The band has been compared to everyone from Pavement to the Grateful Dead.
My Review: I did a review of The Nico Blues EP release back in June. At the time they were working on releasing a full album. Well, the day has arrived! Blame the Boredom, Blame the Basements has now become a reality! The album features all new tracks and covers some serious ground. I can also see improvement both in their playing as well as their song writing ability!
Out of the nine tracks featured on the album, it was really hard to decide which ones to include in this review. So, lets start at the beginning.
I like the opening of track 1, Three’s a Crowd, not to mention the lyrics, so that one made the cut. It also sets the mood for the rest of the album.
Next, I chose track 4, Unprofessional, it has some nice bass work especially in the opening and showcases some real talent for whoever was playing bass on that one.
Track 5, Exit 6, came next, mainly because its a real change of pace and the vocals come through so clear and understandable, and I just plain liked it!
Track 8, Don’t Forget to Breathe is very short, but, even though you won’t see it in this player, it merges seamlessly into track 9, Adjust Accordingly, as if they were one song. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed all the tracks, but had to settle on 4 or so tracks for this review.
As I mentioned in the opening, I can see the progress they have made in moving from a “garage band” to a professional band. Their hard work is paying off!
I rate Blame the Boredom, Blame the Basements by The Nico Blues a solid 10 stars and a “thumbs up”.
Now, they are selling this album from their website, The Nico Blues on a “Pay what you want” basis. So, if you like their music, at least throw them a decent “bone” if you download the album, O.K.?
Get the Flash Player to see this content.
