No Thank You – ‘All It Takes To Ruin It All’ (Out April 6th on Lame-O Records)

As luck and lack of organisation would have it, I’ve run out of tissues, due to a brief cold last week and after sniffing too much empathy, least that’s my excuse. If there are seven stages of grief, No Thank You might show you an express route through them. The Philly trio — composed of long-time friends Kaytee Della Monica, Nick Holdorf, and Evan Bernard – walks a tense, bleary-eyed path on ‘All It Takes To Ruin It All’, their sophomore release as a full band” begins their biography, the optimistic boat for positivity and rainbows, is over 22 fathoms down, should have have paid less attention to the audio currents.

Suitably chastened, ready to face ‘All It Takes To Ruin It All’ exhibits a keener sense of a fair part of many a life, keep the waterproof plasters, cotton wool and bandages, within reach. By the fourth song ‘Branch Doubt’ I am already reaching for the raspberry ruffles, not to say this the first impression; tracks 1-3 blew me away, From worthwhiles ‘Furrowed Brows’ a clue to ‘Cubic Zirconia’ then ‘Dash’, and I should already be more mentally prepared, All It Takes To Ruin It All is the raw, cathartic follow up to the band’s 2017 debut ‘Jump Ship’.

Listening to ‘New England Patriots’ or the slightly more bombastic ‘Limitlessly Cheap’ the band’s musical and language are well versed and as a individual narratives could be described as rich in detailed noir. So if you like your “tenderness and teeth” reflections, fused indie-pop with edge and distirtion, then look no further than No Thank You for you and me as well. I guess. My white horse has buggered off, so I’m conflicted I guess, however on one hand damn them from being too articulate, whilst praise them for another good album in ‘All It Takes To Ruin It All ‘ . 8/10

Steve Janes

Tour Dates:
4/6 – Philadelphia, PA – Kung-Fu Necktie
4/7 – Hamilton, NJ – Doyle’s House
4/8 – Brooklyn, NY – The Cellar @ Brooklyn Bazaar

Stream No Thank You’s new album All It Takes To Ruin It All.

Tracklisting
1. Furrowed Brows
2. Cubic Zirconia
3. Dash
4. Branch Doubt
5. New England Patriots
6. Hell Bent
7. Limitlessly Cheap
8. Outdoor Cat
9. Veranda
10. Space To Grieve

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