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May 19, 2010 Web Exclusive By Paul Bullock

No Singles collects and reissues Brian King (guitar) and David Prowse’s (drums) two early, out-of-print EPs: All Lies (2007) and Lullaby Death Jams (2008). John Golden (Melvins, Nirvana) did an excellent job with the remastering, maintaining the raw energy of a band who is clearly in the midst of figuring out their formula.

By listening to either of these releases individually it would be difficult to diagnose the coming strength and grandeur of their 2009 debut full-length, Post-Nothing. But, together as No Singles, a strange chemical footprint becomes visible. There are some surprising similarities to fellow Vancouver natives Death From Above 1979 on some of the older tracks such as “Couture Suicide” and “Avant Sleepwalk.” Such songs as “No Allegiance to the Queen” and “Sexual Aerosol” have the stripped down version of the structure of later recordings. And, a sped-up, distended cover of “To Hell with Good Intentions” from Mclusky’s criminally underrated 2002 album Mclusky Do Dallas, shows the kind of taste and restraint that would help differentiate Post-Nothing from a host of other sound-a-like acts.

If you’re a fan of their debut then you’ll most likely be a fan of No Singles. Ironically, Polyvinyl has also announced a five release singles series from the band. Each will have an unreleased track on the A-Side and a cover on the B-Side. The first of this series is already in stores and online. It features a great new original, “Art Czars,” and a relatively faithful take on Big Black’s indie classic “Racer-X.” (www.japandroids.com)

Author rating: 7/10