NowFuture – “Sweet Lovin’ Gone Bad”
NowFuture is an act which takes their music with a very intense, sense of seriousness and it shows. A very matured and controlled feeling of complete chaos lies within each and every guitar riff and drum beat, each scream is brought forth with the sincerest emotion and every lyric penned with a certain issue in mind about life as a whole. It sounds very complicated and such, but when you listen to the music it really shines through as no descriptive words could, because amidst the complete and utter brutal energy, there are moments of beauty in it’s hard rocking mayhem which take the listener aback, making you really think about what exactly NowFuture is trying to convey with their EP entitled “Spy Killer”.
This EP is a step above the genre’s other current works in terms of maturity, and also in terms of musicianship. The melting of hardcore punk and extreme rock which NowFuture is renowned for in the underground scene will slowly be leaking its way into the brighter world of the bigger-name independent labels while still maintaining an attitude and tone which would deceive newcomers to the band into thinking the sound to be a more unknown vibe.
But if you’ve ever heard Husker Du back in the day, then you have a slight taste of the basis of NowFuture’s punk and alternative styled metal-rock.
Why did I mention Husker Du? Well because Pete Moss (vocals), Steph Deriff (guitars), Pat Chooly (bass) and Alex Treeme (drums) don’t just kick the crap out of their instruments, they actually know how to squeeze amazing music out of them. They write great songs which incorporate hardcore grit, bone-crunching riffs, gut-busting beats and ear-friendly melodies.
NowFuture forge a reckless punk attitude towards their music and a full on rock aptitude towards their technique. These are qualities hard to find in this kind of music, before and after Husker Du. NowFuture has it all…and they even rock much harder than Husker Du did!
The opening song, and title track of the album “Spy Killer” consists of what every single person who listens to this genre wants to hear: a ringing bass line transcending into a brilliantly progressive guitar riff, an atmosphere which immediately brings to mind the unshackled brutality of crunchy alternative rock.
It is immediately apparent that this is a different animal entirely as the vocals wind their way around the punk-inspired rhythms that border on metal.
The song structures are completely unpredictable and change with each passing song, going from the faster “Sweet Lovin’ Gone Bad” to the weaving epic that is “I’m Bad News” and “You Betrayed”. The complex guitar riffs churn out both punishing chords and more harmonious melodies which are both insanely complex and god damn catchy.
The bass is, thankfully, remembered, because Pat Chooly’s tone is simply wonderful and the production plays a key in highlighting this essential attribute to the crucial low-end of NowFuture’s sound.
Also, another key element of NowFuture’s low-end is the highly technical but always fluent drumming by Alex Teene, creating wonderful but complex polyrhythmic beats which complement the unrelenting technicality of Steph Deriff’s guitars with utter perfection, and the visceral high-energy crooning by Pete Moss.
Sure, it’s very dense material, but if you aren’t looking for an impenetrable wall of music, and you aren’t willing to wade around in the mud to find all the pieces of gold that lie within, why listen to NowFuture at all? “Spy Killer” is an auditory tour-de-force the likes of which many of today’s bands cannot replicate, but it is a sound which NowFuture conveys with ease throughout the EP!
