noSky - noSky EP (Demo)
(Self-Released 2016)
"No one over the age of 18 was involved in the making of this album".
Israeli post-rock duo noSky sign off their debut EP's liner notes with this half-disclaimer, half humblebrag - a simple statement of fact that bears mentioning as the record embodies the spirit of youthful creativity itself. It's a cluttered portfolio of somber, jazzy riffage, greyscale melodies and atonal experimentation spilling from its pockets. Despite (and perhaps thanks to) the record's abject lack of cohesion, noSky is a daring effort that defies any tidy genre tag - a crepuscular Slint-inspired composition immediately follows a primal free-jazz freakout on the EP's title track while the unpronounceably-titled "=-" rides a squelchy IDM groove that recalls Oval's scratched-CD arrangements. noSky's debut plays out like an avant-garde talent show pressed for time - acts of varying classification and virtuosity sharing the stage, hammering out impromptu sets that range from chaotic to atmospheric. "Mask of Normalcy" falls into the latter category, pairing twinkly guitar pluckings with a water bed of piano, as does its successor, "Overwhelming and Collective Murder", a pleasantly sloppy instrumental that sounds like Explosions in the Sky covering Half-Japanese's "Red Sun".
noSky EP is an idealistic garage band venture that makes for a fun and often rewarding listen - its barebones recording quality and lofty sense of ambition make me feel as if I'm a friend of the band, sharing their practice space and cheering them on. For a demo stashed away in the trenches of Bandcamp, there's an impressive amount of potential stored within.
