Not Squares: Well Weapon, Yeah? No.

27 January 2010 7 Comments Written by Joe Sparrow

Expectations: quashed. Norms: avoided. Head: scratched. Not Squares use cowbells, ‘dirty synths’, tight double-speed drums and disco basslines, and yet the band is not instantly hateful and their songs are not the kind of generic ADHT nonsense found on mobile phone adverts. So what gives?

Call me a naive, old cynic, but what drives me up the wall is when a two-bit band scrabble aboard the most fleeting of bandwagons, whelp out a truly woeful, turgid two-bit song and make a success of themselves, all because they were bright/stupid enough to harmonise with the two-bit musical flavour du jour.

In truth, and to fully labour a metaphor, this doesn’t just drive me up the wall, but over it, down the other side and power-slides me all the way to Madsville.

So Not Squares leave me at a puzzling mental impasse: any other band making music like this would make me howl with rage, but I just can’t be angry – they’re having too much innocent fun in the frantic buzz-saw fluctuations that make up Asylum.

Not Squares – Asylum

For all I know, Not Squares could be identikit Nathan Barleys, and Asylum might have been mashed-up on their Wasp Speechtools, but I don’t think so. Youth, breezy youth, all crammed into one gleeful song – and all this delicious naivety is there to offer hope for us all.

www.myspace.com/notsquares

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7 Comments »

bernard said:

that’s a rode N1-A microphone

# 27 January 2010 at 12:52 pm

gwendolin said:

When you get to see NOT SQUARES live, I PROMISE you that set shall deliver everything you are hoping and pondering about this snapshot (‘asylum’) you are reviewing.

I am Belfast’s local music community’s old hope-filled romantic and our local artists are creating mad, vibrant colours on any given night from the spit and sawdust DIY venues(menagerie bar, black box, to our local bars, pubs and clubs whom have learned that live music brings in the pound.

There are a plethora of musical artists that I can recommend to you in across the genres that make up a muso’s collection.
Just email me and I shall pass on recommendations.

gwendolin

# 27 January 2010 at 2:01 pm

Gloovious Bimprole said:

Not Squares should be banned.

# 27 January 2010 at 2:17 pm

Chris said:

Looks like a failed attempt at a Bloody Beetroots mask. Aside from that and ThE WaY tHeY hAvE tYpEd oN ThIer MySpaCe ProFiLe I dug them.

# 27 January 2010 at 2:53 pm

Swimming In Mist, and For Sale: Sony Ericsson W880i (casing has minor teeth-marks and bloody streaks) | A New Band A Day! said:

[...] yesterday’s band glinted manically with all the facets of naive exuberance, then Swimming In Mist is just plain [...]

# 28 January 2010 at 12:20 pm

Patrick & Ji Hyun said:

Not Squares Roack all the way to Kathmandu!!

# 26 April 2010 at 10:33 am

MIDWEEK MIXTAPE // 14th July 2010 | A New Band A Day! said:

[...] Not Squares were on ANBAD before and enraged, delighted and puzzled me in equal measure. The perfect combo. Here is their brilliant new song, with equally brilliant new video. A pleasure, [...]

# 14 July 2010 at 10:43 am

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