Nothing Ditches Pharma Bro: Philly Shoegaze Band Bitch Slaps Creepy Hedge Fund Guy

Nothing

A couple of years ago, when I reviewed Nothing's debut album, "Guilty of Everything", I predicted that this record would become one of my favorites, and it really has.  I could barely conceal my excitement in May that they were releasing their sophomore effort, "Tired of Tomorrow".  And it was definitely worth the wait!  Although it was the album that almost didn't happen, thanks to Pharma Bro.

Nothing has had a bit of bad luck through the years.  Founder Dominic Palermo started out in the Philadelphia hardcore scene in the band, Horror Show, which I find fascinating, as I myself as a teen moved from the aggressive punk sound to the swirling wash of shoegaze.  Who knows what happened to Palermo to have him move in this direction?  But he had to leave the band, because he stabbed a guy and served a couple of years in prison.  When he got out, he started a band that has been instrumental in rebooting the '90s shoegaze movement into a viable force.  Indeed, one may say that - along with DIIV and Beach Fossils - that Nothing leads this scene.

Downward Years To Come EP

To prepare for this review, I decided to check out some of their earlier music.  Prior to signing on Relapse Records and recording their first album, Nothing had released a few EPs independently, and I downloaded one of them, "Downward Years To Come", released in 2012, and recently re-released.  If anything, their sound was even more shoegaze back then.  It was mellifluous, smudgy, with all of the instruments blending together with almost-whispered vocals, making splash of noise.  The EP starts with "The Dives (Lazurus In Ashes)" with the guitars scratching out pulsations of distortion while the drum and bass count out a steady beat, Palermo's voice way back behind the music.  This vocal affectation is signature with shoegaze bands, and I usually like it.  But sometimes Nothing takes it too far.  I have watched live videos of their performances, and you can see the guy singing into the mike but can

scarcely even hear that he is singing.  The title track, "Downward Years To Come", continues this superfluous exercise in reverb, but it has some nice escalations halfway through the song with some strong percussion giving purpose to the vibrations of the guitars, and the song melts into the next track, "Mine Is Clouds", my favorite song on this EP.  It is very reminiscent of The Jesus & March Chain with fluffy textures floating behind the melody.  This blends into the heavy guitar intro of "If Only" that dissipates as the gentle vocals waft over what becomes a sweet melody.  "The Rites of Love and Death" clears up to reveal a gentle acoustic melody, and you can actually hear Palermo's lyrics.  It is a beautiful and pellucid song.  It really is a great EP and a perfect introduction to shoegaze music, if you have never heard it, even if all the songs kind of sound the same.

Martin Shkreli, aka Pharma Bro

The thing that I have liked about this band is that they never totally eschewed their hardcore roots.  It's still there, if you listen to it.  For instance, "Get Well", on their first album, kind of had this grungy, grinding intensity that reminded me of Nirvana.  This sort of genre blending continues on "Tired of Tomorrow".  It's not just a shoegaze album.  There are tons of other influences on here, making it much more of a complete album.  But it is the record that almost did not get made, and here is the story why.

During the tour for their first album, Palermo was attacked after a show in Oakland, so severely that he was left hospitalized with a fractured skull and broken vertebrae.  Following his recovery, he started working on the second album and signed to Collect Records.  Then Palermo did research and found out that Collect was funded by hedge fund millionaire, Martin Shkreli, CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals.  You know, Pharma Bro, the douchebag who bought the rights to the drug that helps people with HIV and then jacked the price up to ridiculously high amounts.  You know, the guy that reflects everything that is wrong with America.  Palermo knew immediately that he would not do an album that was in any way connected with this guy.

Nothing

In an interview with NME, Palermo said he told the band, "Look, we have to shelve this record.  We have to.  I'm not putting this fucking thing out there with this guy, he's involved in too much shit I can't get behind."

So they got out of their record deal, but without a second record.  After some negotiations, they got their record back, re-signed to Relapse Records, and "Tired of Tomorrow" was released this year.  And what a fantastic record it is!

First of all, the production value is much improved, and this album is more clear, less muffled, all while retaining the shoegaze ethic.  The album starts out with "Fever Queen" with dream pop guitars spiraling to muted vocal harmonies.  "Vertigo Flowers" is the primary single off of the album and shows the bands love for all things '90s.  It has a veritable post-grunge, Foo Fighters vibe, very jolting and upbeat.  "A.C.D. (Abcessive Complulsive Disorder)" continues this melding of grunge and shoegaze, loaded with strong pop hooks.  Songs like "Nineteen Ninety Heaven" - which again shows their love for the '90s - are what makes this album not just good, but great.  Palermo combines his voice with an unknown female accompanist along with a sparkling and tremulous orchestra.  And "Tired of Tomorrow", the title track, is an evocative and somber piano ballad.

Tired of Tomorrow

"Curse of the Sun" has heavy guitars and reminds me a bit of Smashing Pumpkins, but dissolves for a while into a hazy bridge but then builds up to its quick buzz again.  "Eaten by Worms" is one of my favorite tracks, with it's trucelent hum (and disturbing video) reminding me once more of Nirvana.  As long as we are comparing to other musicians, "Our Plague" beautifully sounds like it could be a number by Silversun Pickups, but perhaps the biggest influence I see - unsurprisingly - is Cocteau Twins.  There is no denying it.  Every single album or EP that I have listened to by this band has a marked influence from my all-time favorite band.  On this selection, "Everyone is Happy" and especially "The Heavenly Blue Flu" have that watery, swirling and eddying liquid sound that was created by Robin Guthrie of the Cocteau Twins.  There is no mistaking it.  But that doesn't upset me.  I like that they pay a sort of homage to this music from the '80s.  It makes me love Nothing even more.

So this album almost didn't happen, thanks to Pharma Bro.  Palermo later joked that he would like to sell a copy of this album to Pharma Bro for two million dollars.  There is a reason that I love this band.  And you should, too.