No Means No
Alternative Tentacles
Lovely Victoria, British Columbia, a picturesque city on the water visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists each year -- perhaps not the place you'd expect to find one of the weirder and smarter punk bands around today. Or perhaps exactly the sort of place you'd expect to find such a band. In any case, it's the place No Means No calls home. Possibly Canada's preeminent power trio, No Means No have been abrading delicate ears with their complex rhythm-heavy funk-punk and promulgating leftist social commentary across North America since 1981. That was the year a couple of nice Canadian boys, brothers John and Rob Wright, formally began their strange sonic experiments that fused punk with blues, jazz, funk, metal, and pure noise.
Rhythms and declamatory lyrics dominated their sound, a situation that remains true today after two decades of developing their sound. The Wright brothers added a guitarist -- first Andrew Kerr and later Tom Holliston -- but the slashing, sometimes bluesy guitar parts have always seemed to work at the service of the band's complicated rhythms, not the other way around. Rob's deep chugging bass is usually the biggest sound in the mix and John's jarring, polyrhythmic drumming is a lot more sophisticated than most of the percussion you hear in rock music. The brothers share vocals, which range from forceful spoken word speak-sing to Jello Biafra-style demented rants, only occasionally approaching anything like melody. Difficult, confrontational music, but if you appreciate that, consistently rewarding.
The Wrights have steered the helm of No Means No for more than a dozen albums and more seven-inches and cassette-only releases than you can shake a stick at. Their most recent efforts have included Dance of the Headless Bourgeoisie (1998) and One (2000), which includes the featured "Graveyard Shift" as well as a reinterpretation of Miles Davis's "Bitches Brew" and a sludgy cover of The Ramones' "Beat on the Brat."
Jesse Ashlock
last updated:
08/10/01
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