‘Nature Sounds’ is a dirty, fuzzy, garage-punk mess of an album, in the best way possible. Nature Channel’s debut shoves the best that Seattle and New York have to offer through a blender of Englishness that results in a delightfully sickly-sounding record.
There’s a beating heart of passive-aggression inside each song that conjures up memories of UK alumni: Reuben, Yourcodenameis:milo, McClusky, Gay For Johnny Depp and so on. The bands who twisted traditional punk sounds and structures away from the popular-fare they’d become and kept them in the realm of the underground.
At the core, Nature Channel is a power-trio from Brighton. There’s nothing particularly fancy or unique about them. Tom Denney and Luke Hefson’s vocals are screechy and tinged with a Southern “orwight lads” swagger. Sometimes they’re sung in unison, sometimes slurred over quiet chords but they’re mostly belted out with little care for the consequences.
Mostly, the album is composed of messy bursts of noise. Distorted guitars pelt chords over thumping, 4/4 drums as fuzzy bass works underneath them. There’s real intensity throughout.
That’s not to say it’s all breakneck pace. While ‘Kept Man’ starts in fifth-gear and finishes in a ditch, there’s typically a good mix of dynamics in each song. ‘Loose Parts’, one of the stand-outs, follows the choppy-rhythm verse / restrained pre-chorus / fist-pumping chorus/ jangly breakdown formula. It does it well and has an earnest, youthful angst to it.
Elsewhere, ‘Blood Flow’ and ‘Sliding Scale’ show a deft use of indie-sounding pop guitar. It’s less brash and conjures up memories of early Idlewild, when they still listened to Sonic Youth. Admittedly, it’s quickly overtaken by the screeching and angst but it’s a nice respite. There’s definite British sensibilities on display here and the lads steer well clear of the Americanisms that are prone to infecting punk from around the world
‘Nature Sounds’ is at its best when it stomps along, flinging its arms out like a jaded punk fan at a Biffy Clyro gig, wondering why they went to shit. There’s a sloppiness to the sound that belies well-crafted songs about feelings and stuff. It’s absolutely worth a listen to anyone who likes the UK garage-punk sound.
ASHLEY PARTRIDGE