Band:	Noko
Album:	Noko
Style:	Grunge
Release date:	June 2012

01. The Day Before
02. See You Around
03. Bad Thoughts
04. Free Your Love
05. Clouds Are Closing In
06. Right On Time
07. Stand For Me
08. Air's Still
09. She Goes Away
10. This War
11. Before I Sleep

Chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga...

Repeat.

There are albums that are boring and derivative...In fact, an astonishing majority of albums put out are boring and derivative, when you really start thinking about relativity. So let's restart; most albums are boring and derivative, some, however, take it to a new extreme. Yes, we're talking about the band at hand here; Noko.

Post-grunge? Yeah, that. Do you remember when that was cool? Nah, neither do I. That is essentially what Noko feels like. Perhaps just metalize it a bit more; heavier guitars, more aggressive timing, that sort of thing. This amp'd up aggression really seems like a forced afterthought, as if intended to add at least some slightly interesting aspect to the music. Well, sorry to say, it's still not very interesting. It's still that grey, plastic bleakness you can find in any other post-grunge bands that deservedly went out of style a decade ago.

So they're playing a form of music that's inherently valueless, fair enough. There are those out there who enjoy post-grunge, so what does this mean for that crowd? Probably not a whole lot, as they don't even seem to be bringing anything remotely new to the table in that arena. There's no cross-pollination or the slightest inclination toward innovative thinking put behind this song-writing. It's probably a safe assumption to say that both post-grunge fans, and post-grunge haters alike should be able to recognize the insignificance of this recording. Noko's debut is essentially just another radio-rock album with heavier guitars. The very definition of boring.