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NGHBRS - Hellomind EP
Record Label: Unsigned
Release Date: August 17, 2010
Who?
The audaciously self-dubbed NGHBRS is a Long Island team that specializes in quirky rock. Hellomind is their debut EP.
How is it?
Modern rock has mostly gone stale, hasn’t it? Bands age and lose creative energy, and these days, the rookies don’t seem to have much creative energy to begin with. But NGHBRS strums a different chord – more accurately, they pound a different chord. They’ve built Hellomind like a bomb, packing it with explosive riffs and sassy vibes fit to soundtrack a weekend shindig. There’s even a track titled “Drinking With Friends,” and they’ve entrusted it with the sauciest guitar line of all. Nothing here is a one-trick pony affair, though. The latter half of the album has a string of mid-tempo rockers, bringing in bluesy keys and mournful break-up atmospheres. “I’ll teach you how to breathe my baby, I’ll teach you how to sleep… I’ll teach you how to once you leave me, I’ll teach you how to break my baby,” howls “Spoon Fed.” It’s the kind of song where the singer is hunched over his piano, shirt unbuttoned and drenched in sweat by the end of it. Then “Hallows” rolls around and he forgets all about his angst and gets caught up in a huge harmonic chorus. That says something about this EP – it may not be all upbeat, but when it is, it’s rampant enough to engross you. When was the last time you could say that about something from this genre?
Recommended If You Like
Rx Bandits, Foo Fighters, Gatsby's American Dream
Track listing
1. Bodies
2. American Junk
3. Drinking With Friends
4. Spoon Fed
5. Beautiful Birds
6. Hallows
Find NGHBRS on Myspace, or purchase the EP on iTunes. - Absolute Punk
NGHBRS - Hellomind EP
Record Label: Unsigned
Release Date: August 17, 2010
Who?
The audaciously self-dubbed NGHBRS is a Long Island team that specializes in quirky rock. Hellomind is their debut EP.
How is it?
Modern rock has mostly gone stale, hasn’t it? Bands age and lose creative energy, and these days, the rookies don’t seem to have much creative energy to begin with. But NGHBRS strums a different chord – more accurately, they pound a different chord. They’ve built Hellomind like a bomb, packing it with explosive riffs and sassy vibes fit to soundtrack a weekend shindig. There’s even a track titled “Drinking With Friends,” and they’ve entrusted it with the sauciest guitar line of all. Nothing here is a one-trick pony affair, though. The latter half of the album has a string of mid-tempo rockers, bringing in bluesy keys and mournful break-up atmospheres. “I’ll teach you how to breathe my baby, I’ll teach you how to sleep… I’ll teach you how to once you leave me, I’ll teach you how to break my baby,” howls “Spoon Fed.” It’s the kind of song where the singer is hunched over his piano, shirt unbuttoned and drenched in sweat by the end of it. Then “Hallows” rolls around and he forgets all about his angst and gets caught up in a huge harmonic chorus. That says something about this EP – it may not be all upbeat, but when it is, it’s rampant enough to engross you. When was the last time you could say that about something from this genre?
Recommended If You Like
Rx Bandits, Foo Fighters, Gatsby's American Dream
Track listing
1. Bodies
2. American Junk
3. Drinking With Friends
4. Spoon Fed
5. Beautiful Birds
6. Hallows
Find NGHBRS on Myspace, or purchase the EP on iTunes. - Absolute Punk
Like many places that are often misunderstood, Long Island takes care of its own. This week, the short-lived but admired Long Island band Envy on the Coast will play its farewell shows, and one of the opening acts will be NGHBRS, a promising young band that just self-released its debut EP, “Hellomind.” It’s a group in the image of its predecessors, smart about its pop-punk with dashes of metal, post-hardcore and soulful pop. On the raucous, desperate “Bodies,” guitar lines dive in at unexpected angles, and “American Junk” throbs with classic-rock muscle. Anchoring the group is the singer Ian Kenny, who has a beautiful, insistent, crystal-clear yelp of a voice. On the aching “Spoon Fed,” accompanied only by piano, he’s scraped up and defeated but still singing with melodramatic verve: “I’ll teach you how to want to leave me/I’ll teach you how to break, my baby/I’ll teach you how to walk around like you know the world is wrong.” - NY Times
Like many places that are often misunderstood, Long Island takes care of its own. This week, the short-lived but admired Long Island band Envy on the Coast will play its farewell shows, and one of the opening acts will be NGHBRS, a promising young band that just self-released its debut EP, “Hellomind.” It’s a group in the image of its predecessors, smart about its pop-punk with dashes of metal, post-hardcore and soulful pop. On the raucous, desperate “Bodies,” guitar lines dive in at unexpected angles, and “American Junk” throbs with classic-rock muscle. Anchoring the group is the singer Ian Kenny, who has a beautiful, insistent, crystal-clear yelp of a voice. On the aching “Spoon Fed,” accompanied only by piano, he’s scraped up and defeated but still singing with melodramatic verve: “I’ll teach you how to want to leave me/I’ll teach you how to break, my baby/I’ll teach you how to walk around like you know the world is wrong.” - NY Times
Hailing from Long Island (NY), Neighbors caught some media attention when their song ‘Bodies’ was featured on a videogame soundtrack, and now release their debut EP ‘Hellomind’ unto the world. Opening track ‘Bodies’ is a tennis match between a heavy bass-driven riff and an atmospheric half-emptiness only disrupted by sustained notes and echoing guitars, letting Ian Kenny’s voice rip through the sound scape. Spastic guitar soloing and some more piano are laden onto the song to build up towards an epic final chorus.
‘Beautiful Birds’ opens as a bluesy number guided by a sultry voice, accompanied by some bar stool piano and resonating guitars, achieving a sound that doesn’t stray too far off Thrice’s more recent style. The guitar turns to distortion and cymbals crash as the band unleash a hard rocking chorus advising us to "call the doctor, call the doctor". The song finds a confident stride between blues-tinged cool to alternative rock amp wrecker before a fuzzy guitar solo battles its way through feedback in what turns out to be a fine moment of musicianship.
'Hallows', in comparison, comes off as a more mid-tempo track. The arrangement is once again very well achieved, and guitar, piano and vocals all work hard at building up the song with every measure before unleashing a group-vocalled chorus set to a backing of some quite tasty guitar licks. The bridge has a few surprises and announces the final chorus with style and edge. Similarly, 'Spoon Fed' is a piano-led ballad that focuses strongly around the emotional intensity Kelly manages to bring to the song. It’s a very short track, but works well as an interlude and a change of pace.
‘Drinking With Friends’ showcases some of the band’s sweetest grooves, bass while the guitar work mixes fuzzy sections and staccato parts powdered with some edgy open-chord strumming and a special jazz organ appearance. The whole song is a smooth ride and all the elements blend together seamlessly until the solo and the song is abruptly brought to an end, leaving us wanting more of it. ‘American Junk’ is a cocktail of reggae-tinged guitars, a catchy yet not generic punk chorus and fuzzed-up guitar jangling. At the two-thirds line, the band lay down soothing echoing guitar tones accompanied by some of the band’s better lyrical efforts, but soon rip the listener away from his comfort to remind him how much they rock.
Neighbors aren’t reinventing anything here, but the tastefulness of the instrumentation and the arrangements compliment their effort to create some exciting alternative rock supported by some fine vocal work. I really do hope, and fully expect to hear more of them soon.
4.5/5
'Hellomind EP' by Neighbors is available now.
Nieghbors on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.
James Berclaz-Lewis - Alter the Press
Hailing from Long Island (NY), Neighbors caught some media attention when their song ‘Bodies’ was featured on a videogame soundtrack, and now release their debut EP ‘Hellomind’ unto the world. Opening track ‘Bodies’ is a tennis match between a heavy bass-driven riff and an atmospheric half-emptiness only disrupted by sustained notes and echoing guitars, letting Ian Kenny’s voice rip through the sound scape. Spastic guitar soloing and some more piano are laden onto the song to build up towards an epic final chorus.
‘Beautiful Birds’ opens as a bluesy number guided by a sultry voice, accompanied by some bar stool piano and resonating guitars, achieving a sound that doesn’t stray too far off Thrice’s more recent style. The guitar turns to distortion and cymbals crash as the band unleash a hard rocking chorus advising us to "call the doctor, call the doctor". The song finds a confident stride between blues-tinged cool to alternative rock amp wrecker before a fuzzy guitar solo battles its way through feedback in what turns out to be a fine moment of musicianship.
'Hallows', in comparison, comes off as a more mid-tempo track. The arrangement is once again very well achieved, and guitar, piano and vocals all work hard at building up the song with every measure before unleashing a group-vocalled chorus set to a backing of some quite tasty guitar licks. The bridge has a few surprises and announces the final chorus with style and edge. Similarly, 'Spoon Fed' is a piano-led ballad that focuses strongly around the emotional intensity Kelly manages to bring to the song. It’s a very short track, but works well as an interlude and a change of pace.
‘Drinking With Friends’ showcases some of the band’s sweetest grooves, bass while the guitar work mixes fuzzy sections and staccato parts powdered with some edgy open-chord strumming and a special jazz organ appearance. The whole song is a smooth ride and all the elements blend together seamlessly until the solo and the song is abruptly brought to an end, leaving us wanting more of it. ‘American Junk’ is a cocktail of reggae-tinged guitars, a catchy yet not generic punk chorus and fuzzed-up guitar jangling. At the two-thirds line, the band lay down soothing echoing guitar tones accompanied by some of the band’s better lyrical efforts, but soon rip the listener away from his comfort to remind him how much they rock.
Neighbors aren’t reinventing anything here, but the tastefulness of the instrumentation and the arrangements compliment their effort to create some exciting alternative rock supported by some fine vocal work. I really do hope, and fully expect to hear more of them soon.
4.5/5
'Hellomind EP' by Neighbors is available now.
Nieghbors on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.
James Berclaz-Lewis - Alter the Press
Discography
Hellomind EP (August 2011)
Mixtape (August 2012)
Twenty One Rooms LP (July 2013)
Photos
Bio
Fusing elements of alternative rock with catchy melodies, impressive musicianship, rhodes keyboards, and 90's grunge, NGHBRS has made it their mission to always separate themselves from the pack. Formed in the summer of 2009, the band revolves around a strong work ethic, an intense practice schedule, and a constant fire under their belt. Drummer Jordan Schneider and guitarist Thomas Fleischmann have been playing in bands together for the previous 8 years, when they began to collaborate with vocalist/keyboard player Ian Kenny. Excited and intrigued about their newfound exploration, they moved into a practice space even before writing their first song. The band acquired bass player Eric Vivelo, and wrote and recorded their debut EP Hellomind, which was independently released in the summer of 2010.
The band's infectious sound and theatrical live show just could not be ignored. Hellomind succeeded in putting them on the national radar, earning the band write-ups in The New York Times and Alternative Press Magazine, and main features on sites like Purevolume.com and Absolutepunk.net. The years following consisted of national tours and opening shows at some of New York City's most renowned venues such as Irving Plaza, Highline Ballroom, and Gramercy Theatre. The band also began headlining shows locally, their fan-base continuously spreading.
The ambitious group really caused a stir when they began creating jazz renditions of their songs, releasing live studio videos showcasing their ability to transform their high energy rock songs into low key lounge versions. "We take a lot pride in being multi-dimensional," says bass player Eric Vivelo. "Yeah, it's important to us that we change things up and keep things fresh," adds drummer Jordan Schneider. The band also performs live as this "alter-ego" from time to time, including their hometown show with Good Old War in July of 2012. This side of the band was also highlighted on their Mixtape, which was released for free in the preceding August. The Mixtape included several jazz versions of songs, some acoustic B-sides, and several live versions of songs, which were recorded at Converse's "Rubber Tracks" Studio. NGHBRS is currently giving away their entire music collection for free on their Bandcamp, http://nghbrs.bandcamp.com/.
To record their debut album, NGHBRS moved into an abandoned mansion, the former estate of famous American poet and journalist, William Cullen Bryant, on the North Shore of Long Island in the fall of 2012. The estate was later turned into a museum and eventually shut down, leaving behind exhibits and historical pieces still in tact. For over 2 months, the band lived with no Internet, no television, and in a house that was rumored to be haunted. "It was a really strange, inspiring time," says vocalist Ian Kenny. "The whole experience really influenced the outcome of the record." The album was produced and recorded by Bryan Russell and Dan Gluszak, who also did the Hellomind EP. Encouraged by the band's raw energy and unique live performance, the band decided to record the album live. "We just really wanted to capture something special with this record," says Kenny. "It was definitely a challenge, but it I think it really paid off," adds guitarist Tommy Fleischmann.
"This is going to be an important year for us," says Schneider, "We have a lot to prove." When asked what they're hoping to prove, Kenny replies, "That we're not just a one and done type of band. We're always looking to take strides forward." Based on the band’s past success and industrious attitude, it may be safe to assume that they're here to stay.
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