Nevernudes “Cereal EP”

I’ve been following Nevernudes for years because I knew they would release something like this. Nevernudes have always been one of those bands with oodles of potential that just didn’t quite come through in their earlier songs and releases. Now what I have been waiting for has finally come. The loss of their forth member has been a great move for the band too – the songs are stripped back and have a lot more space (sometimes less noise is better, and here the space in between sound enhances the sounds themselves). On record, the way these three musicians fit in together is amazing. They’re all very competent and work together in a way that can only be done after years of playing together.

The major improvement over their previous releases has been in the vocals. The melodies have vastly improved, and you can hear great choruses full of hooks. The lyrics follow a similar theme to Nevernudes’ previous releases (boredom with the status quo, the 9-5 work day, being a young person and being forced down the path of “life”), and sometimes they lack subtlety but are still incredibly effective (“How much is life worth to me / twelve fifty an hour apparently”). Nevernudes deserve some recognition with this EP, they have outgrown the young spazzy band that they were once known as, and have produced something amazing. Highlights of the EP are the opener ‘From Locked Rooms’, ‘Open Lipped Wound’ and ‘Spooky Toys’, but overall it is a very consistent record and all songs are worth listening to. This is one of my favourite kiwi records of the year. [A]