Nonverbal Expression
All Over You (Take Five Records)
by Scott Deckman
On debut All Over You, California band Nonverbal Expression play surfy, fuzzy, ’60s guitar rock updated for the ’20s, stealing from Dick Dale as much as Iggy, ’70s punk and ’80s college rock as much as, and you know it’s coming, reader, THE STROKES! There is melody among the garagey din, and singer Javier Fernandez can sound tender without being effete. There are even little Ocean Blue-type melodies happening (another band I’ve referenced fairly recently on this site. Shut up.). The group also kind of reminds me of Aussie punk and punkish bands (they list The Vines as an influence).
“Running Wild” is garagey and fuzzy as hell, but melodic. They’re pilfering from something here, a minor passage – I can’t place it – but the band doesn’t take it all the way. Good for them, or maybe not. It’s missing the payoff. Before this, there’s a minor flare-up in one of the riffs repeated twice which recalls Mötley Crüe’s “Looks That Kill” in a weird, backwards way; it’s choice. As you can tell, there are a lot of guitar parts on the song. Next up, “We Can Never See the Stars” is cleaner, more angular, surfy and stompy. The album features raucous garage rock like this, but also slower, somewhat balladic offerings such as next cut “I’m No Stranger.” “Lucky Strike” again features angular, surfy guitar. Some melodies on All Over You are not just reminiscent of other artists, but of each other and can get repetitive.
I have a fairly sanguine take on the stealing/homage scale, which can be a fine line. My judging criteria are: How much and is it any good? What Nonverbal Expression pilfer or ape is generally good, and they mostly don’t cross over into outright theft. There are only so many notes and chord combinations, it’s what you do with them that count.
I know my lazy ass compares any half-decent indie rock band in 2024 to The Strokes, but what can I do if it’s true? The reference is not exactly spot-on here, but along with The Vines, these guys list The Strokes and The Cribs as influences on label Take Five Record’s website. And it’s because The Strokes, more than any band since, have set a loose template for how lower-fi indie rock sounds. It also should be noted that the kingpin of the “garage rock revival” actually sounds among the least garagey of the genre they helped start – or restart – in this case.
In fact, Nonverbal Expression is a little more garagey than the holy Strokes. Though there is certainly some scuzzy, messy rock on All Over You, it’s melodic and poppy enough to appeal to most rock fans. But that Strokes reference really does shine through on single “Bliss,” which comes pretty close to plagiarism concerning “Meet Me in the Bathroom.”
At this point the band has the sound more than the songs. That’s half the battle. The potential is there. Better-than-decent debut.
