Nemas - If we could play faster we would

Tracks
1. NEMAS United
2. Saturday
3. Backstreets of London
4. Alcohol
5. Originality
6. My voice
7. Shoes
8. White dove
9. Unknown soldier


Band:
Joel (Lead vocals)
Nisse (Guitar & vocals)
Viktor (Guitar & vocals)
Martin (Drums & Percussion)
Jonathan (Bass)


Discography:
Debut


Guests
Petter Findin (Saxophone)
Arne Larsson (Trumpet)
Mr Bassoon (Bassoon)
Sara Hjälmås (Vocals)
Kim Ahlström (Vocals


Info
Michael Nilsson (recording & mix)
Michael Nilsson & Nemas (production)
Henrik Lipp (master)

Released 05/15/2009
Reviewed 05/18/2009


Links:
nemasonline.com
myspace
plunk records

Swedish punk rockers have just released their debut album here in Sweden, and this record found its way into the mailbox here and now it has spun a few laps on my portable music player which name I will not mention here as they do not pay me. Now I feel ready to review this record after having heard it many times already.

As is the norm in punk rock music the songs are short and to the point with few chords much like the old masters from long ago, there are some parallels to be drawn back to that time. However, there are also some parallels to be drawn to the more American branch of punk rock that usually goes under the name of skate punk. That means a little more advanced for the punk rock things, some saxophone and trumpet can be found in some of the songs on this album, also some female vocals on one of the tracks, that might be different for punk music but it may not be, I don’t really know that much about the genre. However, the music is full of energy and all songs are short at to the point with no compromises.

22 minutes of punk rock, that is easy to stand even though the music could suck, punk is way easier to handle than the deep dark black metal. However, Nemas makes punk music that I actually like, which I know is a tad odd but the music is energetic, melodic and the songs are good and the record’s 22 minutes is just enough before the music starts to bore the listener which is a thing that happens to many bands. It is kind of hard to actually believe that this is a debut. This band can reach very far if they are correctly promoted.

I find myself rocking along with the songs as they are pouring out through the headphones, I like the subtle nuances and the powerful and easy-to-take-in choruses that makes this record as strong as it is. There is really nothing to complain about, maybe the 22 minutes but I feel that any longer would be bad for this record.

Of the songs I like Backstreets of London best, it has saxophone, bassoon, trumpet and so forth and it has a good sing-along chorus and I find myself enjoying this song a lot. Not that the other songs of the record are that bad but this song stands out a bit from the rest of the album.

Now then, what else to say, I like the cover of this record as it is very descriptive of what we are to hear as we turn on the record player, there is really nothing to write down that is negative for this record.

In the end it is a highly energetic record that makes me wish that it sounded like this back then in the late seventies as that would have meant that I would be listening to punk rock instead of ignoring and avoiding it.

HHHHHHH

Label - Plunk Records/Triada
Three similar bands - Ramones/The Offspring/Green Day
Rating: HHHHHHH
Reviewer: Daniel Källmalm
rage1.html