The first awesome album of 2010 is about to drop from a group of guys you’re probably not familiar with. Hopefully that changes soon. Meet The N.E.C., an acronym for Natural Extension Concept. Their shit is enlightened. The group’s 10″ EP was listed in our Year End List 2009, wherein The N.E.C. was referred to as “the southern response to No Age.” That’s a good reference point, as is fellow Atlantans Deerhunter, though The N.E.C. maintains a more acute and strictly defined approach to space punk.
The N.E.C. has concocted a beautiful, cohesive album with Is, and the only disappointment is its brevity (mas roca, por favor)! Laced with pervasive, dub-like tape echo, atomic shoegaze tonality, loose song structures with gritty production, violent monolithic reverb, ambient explorations, snakey riffs, and an overall melodic sheen, The N.E.C.’s retro futuristic garage psych is distinct yet familiar.
“It’s Right,” within a minute and a half, lets you know where The N.E.C.’s loyalties lie, and they fight fervently on the side of Echoplex, complemented with triumphant percussion, total decibel damage, and guitars so crunchy that gallons of Korova milk couldn’t make that shit soggy. The epic “Dead of Night” explores various strata – everything from fuzzy dream pop to classic dust-swept garage rock to noise in under three minutes, ending with an explosion of skull-crushing… bells. You gotta hear it.
This band is awesome. This record is awesome. And the passive voice is always on point. Is is available at the group’s website. Go see about it. If Is is not RIAA-certified gold by the beginning of Q3 this year, I’m calling shenanigans on all you dorks.
For fans of: No Age, Spacemen 3, Nothing People
Fagen-Becker Quality Rating
MP3 :::
The N.E.C. – It’s Right
The N.E.C. – Dead of Night
