Plenty of Doc Martens and septum nose rings, and the skin and bones filling them, packed into the Metro to witness the force of Nothing. The Philadelphia quartet will test your earplugs to the max. They have a rep for being so damn loud, and it was indeed true this night.
Nothing seems to be a great blend of old and new. Tipping to the 90s, they bring huge droned and delayed out distorted guitars supporting emotional, grand and almost delicate sounding vocal lines. One deep dive into the actual lyrics, however, reveals something dark. The dramatic beauty of the sound becomes their vehicle for an expression of difficult topics, anxiety, negativity, pain, for example. Visually, they’re a 2019 update, as they bring a modern looking aesthetic. We see beards and painter’s hats alongside skull caps and work trousers. That’s why the collection of Docs and nose rings in the crowd really works here. It’s a nice manifestation and reflection on what’s happening on stage and that blend of mid-90s and 2019.
It kind of seemed to take a bit for the crowd to loosen up. “Curse of the Sun” from 2016s Tired of Tomorrow got the heads bobbin’. “Blue Line Baby” from 2018s Dance on the Blacktop got the weed rollin’. By then, it was hot in the Metro, boy!
Not sure if by design or not, but a nod has to be given to the amazing 90s sleeper, Hum, who set that stage back then with their fuzzed out wierdo drone. It felt really great listening to Nothing putting on their own new version of the “genre” and feeling reborn in that era of spaced out guitar drone. Well done Nothing!
We have a little bit of Nothing for you right here:
