Album Review: Nightmarathons – Missing Parts

Veterans, in their own words, of ‘at least ten bands’ between them, the collected components of Pittsburgh’s Nightmarathons have evidently learned a great deal about the art and mechanics of making jet-fuelled, rabble-rousing post-punk rock music in their other outfits. From the first twinkle of the tickled hi-hat intro of Waiting Room to the ringing final chord of Cemetery Road, Missing Parts is a genuinely all-killer full length that showcases a band completely on top of their work and joyously able to express themselves. There’s an anthemic quality to this album that is born out of a firm grasp of melody and the controlled use of power. There’s emotion too, rooted in a raw and often shouted vocal that is a counterpoint to the pretty, and frequently intricate, guitar work and the driving and dynamic work of the rhythm unit.

Missing Parts is evocative of a not-too-distant golden past when rock music by men started looking inwards and away from shiny cars and idealised girls. And this is rock music, of a kind that will one day be recognised as classic and era-defining. At times Nightmarathons are thunderous (Estimate and Watered Down), at times urgent (Cull Your Heart). To capture this changing dynamic, the recording/mixing and production by Anti-Flag‘s Chris No. 2 is superlative, allowing the full panorama and scope of these songs to be expressed. It’s clean without losing the dirtiness and the little touches of controlled amp noise and feedback hint at a band who are keen to emphasise that this is absolutely for real. Favourites? Estimate and the majestic Waiting Room. But then it’s all good and it works as a piece in a way that albums often don’t these days.

Nightmarathons are on the road around the United States throughout April and Missing Parts will be released through A-F Records on March 29th and can be pre-ordered here