NoMeansNo: Flaunting the New School

Playing Montreal for the first time in three years for the Suoni Per Il Popolo fest, NoMeansNo are perhaps Canada's greatest still-standing punk institution, a testament to the enduring partnership of its key members, brothers Rob and John Wright (along with estimable guitarist Tom Holliston, who joined the band in the early 90s following the departure of Andy Kerr), and the singularity of their sound. Their songs have spanned the breadth of many genres, touching on classic '80s hardcore, '70s hard rock, jazz, and psych, and their albums have varied wildly in tone and form, from the anthemic, raw aggression of 1989's Wrong to the extended grooves of 2000's NoMeansNoOne, all the way up to 2006's freewheeling, even folksy All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt. They're as apt to record a two-minute rave-up as they are a 20-minute Miles Davis interpretation, all through the prism of their warped sense of humor.

They haven't been resting up in the interim since their last visit, mind. "From '06 to '07 we played about 175 shows," notes drummer-singer (and occasional keyboardist) John, speaking from his home base in Vancouver right before their latest jaunt across the country. Wright credits their association with Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles in the 80s (as well as the wider punk boom), along with their relentless touring, with their success here and abroad. "Because we were under the Alternative Tentacles banner, we were already respected in Europe." That decade saw their material become increasingly sophisticated, culminating in their sometimes agreed-upon high-water mark Wrong (though I tend to gravitate towards The Worldhood of the World [As Such]). Through their shifting sounds, they've managed to maintain a worldwide audience - and they're no strangers to progress, either, unlike many older hands in the industry. When prodded about new material (nicknamed Codename: Old on their thoroughly ridiculous news page), Wright informs me that they're looking at an EP series rather than, necessarily, a full-length release, "on digital and vinyl only." He also mentioned that fans could expect "three or four" new tunes on the tour, material that in recorded form will follow a "keep it simple" aesthetic following the relative sonic indulgence of All Roads, which featured multi-tracked guitars and a clean, compressed sound. Wright describes the new material as being mostly "slower and longer" than the sprightly All Roads material.

While the future of the industry itself may be in peril, there is little evidence that NMN will ever slow down too much, or dilute their trademark sneer. We're all the richer for it, folks.