Reviews

Wacky Dog

Student Nurse Problem Attic LP

STUDENT NURSE delivers some great care with this art-rock-gone-interstellar LP. Resurrecting after a 38-year break, this Seattle-based band dropped an album most likely recorded in an alien spaceship, though they don’t steal cows, just emit strange tunes. Problem Attic is filled with sci-fi atmospheric guitar, going on long tangents alongside eccentric upbeat drums. “Cash Machine” and “Garbage” offer great bass lines and jumpy energy. It seems the band is partial to having an ’80s undertone to the album sound, “Discover Your Feet” holds the same shrill vintage sound reminiscent of BLONDIE. While I am not partial to the reverberated oddball vocal style, there is a unique harmony to the band which works well to dance between quick bursts of punk intention to laid-back songs. Working with fun synthesized effects and cute lyrics, this LP is worth its salt, yet not something I would put on repeat.

Student Nurse Safety Last LP

From the bedrock of the Seattle punk scene, making their first music from ’79–’84, STUDENT NURSE reemerges some 38 years later with fresh energy and new music—this ain’t no reissue! Revived from the long view allowed by the pandemic, Helena Rogers’s vocals and guitar still front the band. She writes lyrics that young punks haven’t yet earned, like “Look at us, we’re not the ones to blame” from “Aurora.” The band works hard to produce an album that weaves between off-kilter rhythms and on-the-four convergence that will undoubtedly get you nodding. Bass riffs wander effortlessly all over the fretboard, rarely ceasing, while guitars scratch out bittersweet riffs and skronky upstrokes. The drums order this chaos, catching everybody’s irregular grooves, bringing back to center this electric orchestra for verses where Helena and David’s vocals tell it solemnly. This clearly isn’t a cash grab to capture old fans, given their short and fractured stint so many years ago. Instead, we are lucky enough to witness a group of artists who have put out some truly special music. Each of these eight tracks are over four minutes long, and none of them drag. For a good taste, try out “What Happened to Me?”—I think it encapsulates the spirit of the band, their tenure in the scene, and their ability to somehow, 38 years later, not miss a beat.