aaamusic | On 15, May 2011

A quick flick through some of Night Noise Team’s previous work and interviews sees the band come across as Rock, Pop, French Pop, Indie & ‘the modern Manic Street Preachers’ as well as achieving an 80’s sound.  After listening to the group’s second release dubbed Slow Release, I’m none the wiser.

Throughout the course of NNT’s album you can hear elements of a wide mix of genres, though I must admit that the French Pop sound doesn’t really hold true especially when my experience of French Pop has been excruciatingly painful.  Some of Night Noise Team’s work is impressive; in particular slower more simplistic tracks like Drifting showcase the group’s strongest work.  The track works well because it drastically differs from the others on the album, with no genre mixes and no odd blends of sound making the track come across as a plain yet effective indie number.

The problem with Night Noise Team is their attempts to cover too many genres across their album, making it sound like a crap Now! Compilation Album.  Too many of their songs sound like they’re from different bands, for instance Doors Are Closed features a stadium rock styled introduction whereas The Gift sounds like something The Gossip would have produced when they were relevant to the music world.

One the whole Night Noise Team do offer some good stuff on Slow Release, however if they could stick to one style of sound they would be doing themselves a massive favour.  Despite all the positive reviews they have garnered, none of them seem to actually understand who or what Night Noise Team really are.  Calling the band a pop group comes without any real justification, whilst one review dubbing them ‘the rock kings of Scotland’ is absolutely ridiculous, especially considering the current spate of Scot rock at the moment.  Quite simply Night Noise Team have some potential, but Slow Release is nothing more than mediocre at best.

Author: Tom Crowther