Talented yet really campy hardcore, I guess they sound like STRUNG OUT? This kind of hardcore was never my thing and I am not going to start listening to it at 30. They have some interesting rhythms with some very intricate guitar and drums, but UNFAIR FIGHT couldn’t really hold my attention. This record sounds like a hodgepodge of every hardcore / punk band from Epitaph and Fat Wreck Chords from the mid-2000s, and it is a bit anxiety inducing to me.
Exactly what you would expect from NO STATIK. Fast, heavy- hitting, punchy hardcore. Mysterious to Ourselves doesn’t really lack anything that is hardcore, as it has all the tropes of a hardcore record: the blast, the fast, the chug, the breakdown. What has always stood out to me the most about NO STATIK is the cadence of frontperson Ruby. The way that anger, anxiety, and depression seem to just exude from the mic. They do get weird by adding some instrumental tracks to the end that serve as some soundscapes and noise, but in my opinion they could have gotten weirder. This record feels urgent and intense, the production is crystal clear, and the art is really fucking dope. I am assuming this is the last record from NO STATIK since they are billed as playing 1-2-3-4 Go! in Oakland with the tagline “say goodbye.”
