The Formative Years - Nomeansno
For the longest time, I have had a love/hate relationship with Nomeansno. While I always loved their fiercely intelligent lyrical emissions which transcended angry sloganeering and could appreciate their willingness to experiment and incorporate progressive rock and jazz influences into their very own brand of punk, the complex instrumentation and borderline mathematical arrangement was more of a deterrent than it reeled me in as a teenager.
I was first introduced to them via a mixtape of Canadian bands that friend of mine compile for me, which included D.O.A., SNFU, Day Glo Abortions and well, Nomeansno.
It took a couple of years to understand the depth and brilliance of Nomeansno’s oeuvre, which due to the fact of the band starting out as a two-piece, deviated from the standards other full-equipped punk bands were providing.
With emphasis put on bass, drums and vocals, Nomeansno created their own earthy, unique sound and my favourite period of the band was when Andy Kerr joined the Wright brothers to complete the band with his idiosyncratic guitar tone to record the classic album Small Parts Isolated and Destroyed, which I acquired in form of the CD released via Jello Biafra’s Alternative Tentacles label.
By the time Nomeansno released the fantastically intense Wrong album, I was hooked and travelled far and wide to catch them live when they incarnated in Germany in a live environment, which was never not a mind-blowing experience witnessing them channel their punk roots via noise, prog rock, improvisations and avantgarde rock and performing for hours on end.
Nomeansno redefined what a punk rock could do and have a special place in my personal musical pantheon. The current lockdowns on terra australis gave me time to revisit their entire catalogue and I dare you to dig in as there are so many gems to be found.
