Butt-Ugly Noodle - The Second Floor

Butt-Ugly Noodle

The Second Floor
self-released; 2015

3.6 out of 5

By J Simpson

It is tempting to analyze all art in a societal context. We can lament the death of the androgynous '70s with all the progress they made, as the '80s returned the glammy, escapist, misogynistic hedonism of hair metal and stadium rock. We can wax poetic about working class rage, the capitalist grind and gender equality, but the fact of the matter is, music exists, first and foremost, as music. Musicians write riffs, bass lines and drum patterns because they feel good and they like the way they sound. Or they should, anyway. 

Butt-Ugly Noodle did things the old-fashioned way - just a group of friends from The Netherlands who liked to jam. Starting off with a core of guitar and vocals, Butt-Ugly Noodle quickly gathered a rhythm section and they became a real band.

The Second Floor starts right off with a mission statement and battle cry in the form of "Feeling Alright" with a chorus that repeats those two words, over and over. This is music for enjoyment, for fun - for forgetting life's problems for a while, as melodic guitar hooks snare your eardrums like bottom-feeding carpe and won't let go. 

Butt-Ugly Noodle features shouted/sung lead female vocals that land somewhere between the caustically saccharine PJ Harvey and the no-nonsense rock fury of Joan Jett. These vocals tell stories of regret, of abandonment, of demons and darkness, and having a good time in spite of it all. 

The recording is pretty rough and ready like a good quality demo, which serves the raw realness of Butt-Ugly Noodle. This band isn't trying to pretend to be what they are not - not trying to present themselves as the shiniest, bestest new thing. This is a band that loves to play, that wants to ROCK and have a good time while doing so. You're bound to have a good time, while you listen. It's infectious. 

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