No Momentum Comes Out Swinging: Relax, Enjoy Life LP Review and Interview
No Momentum, the Hudson Valley based pop-punk/post-hardcore band, pushes against the norm to produce music true to themselves. “Ultimately, No Momentum is built on approaching sounds that we love and grew up on with our own lens,” they said in a recent interview with the group, “and doing so, in some ways intentionally and other ways not, without regard for convention or expectations.” They recently launched their new LP, relax, enjoy life, and despite the laid-back title, the band spared no expense in their latest project; tight rhythms, shocking guitar riffs, and emotional lyrics saturate each song.
A certain authenticity pervades their music.
“Three of us (Kelly, Dan, and Marty) have been friends and making music together for six or more years now, and we’ve spent almost 2 years with Curt not only as a member of the band but also as a member of our outfit of tomfoolery and hooliganism,” they explained while discussing the band's history.
Maybe it's the unabashed vocal lines screaming for retribution in “enjoy life”, which amplifies their message through a lyrical intuition. It could be the instrumental lines so in sync they might all have telepathy. Somehow, the band harnesses a synergy between members that takes monumental time and energy to cultivate, and their bond is almost tangible.
Take for instance their opening and title numbers, “relax” followed by the aforementioned “enjoy life”. They encapsulate themes of pain and inadequacy, common ideas for the emo/punk rock genre, but with a tinge of exasperation. Lyrics are imbued with a sense of wit and frustration, like the line, “Sane for the day/ Tame for the week/ Down for the year/ I wait on the deal of the meek.” As the piece begins and builds, the melancholy of a cruel existence envelops the shredding guitar, and the bass pulsates with anxiety until it all breaks loose after the transition into “enjoy life”. The yearning for better circumstances becomes apparent, and each musician strikes a balance to match that energy. When asked about how they work so well in tandem, No Momentum replied, “The time we spend together helps build so much chemistry; everything from practicing or writing songs to sitting around and chopping it up is a way for us to better understand one another and apply that to our music.”
Compare that to the penultimate song of the LP titled “ashamed” opens with an ethereal soundscape that the listener could get lost in, only to come back to their multifaceted format. It pushes past expectations, introducing a saxophone part that compliments the band well. When prompted to elaborate on the saxophone line, No Momentum elaborated, “We were put in touch with Celina from Meow Meow. She came into the studio with us toward the end of the album sessions and knocked it out of the park, pretty much off the cuff and we were super pleased with the results!” This addition of a new melodic instrument makes the piece stand out, and my biggest suggestion to the band is to explore similar instruments that might extrapolate their potential through melody. “We’re suckers for more non-conventional instrumentation in punk music,” the group continued, “we’ve long been flirting with adding new instruments to our sound and we are probably closer than ever to seeing that happen in a more focused manner.”
Available on Spotify, Bandcamp, and Apple Music, relax, enjoy Life by No Momentum plunges into a new future for the punk scene of the Hudson Valley. Be sure to listen to the LP, and see them live on their tour this winter.