Nervvs - Death House EP

Nervvs

Death House EP
self-released; 2015

3.1 out of 5

By Jamie Funk

Nervvs is a two-piece band from Dublin, Ireland. The band members are Ian Meagher and Tom O'Reilly. They released Death House EP, which is a complete DIY effort. The EP sounds more or less like Ty Segall Band went into their rehearsal space with an old school tape deck stereo and pressed record. The recording isn’t very good any way you look at it. You can’t listen too loud because of the offending high frequencies and some of the vocals are barely audible.

Suffice it to say I would have enjoyed this EP much more even if the quality was improved by 25%. In spirit alone I was not only reminded of Ty Segall Band but of The Pixies and early Liars records such They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top.

The EP opens with “Persian Rugs” which revolves around distorted power chords, a basic drumbeat and flailing lyrics that are virtually indiscernible. The vocalist is dynamic and sounds like he is going into convulsions in a punk rock 101 type of way. Unfortunately, my ears were ringing after the first song I think solely because of the obnoxious crash cymbal.  “Persian Rugs” is a solid punk/garage rock but just needed disparate treatment. 

“Stalk Yrself” contains vocals that sound like a faint, distant echo. It’s a pretty basic song that wasn’t the band's strongest moment. That moment comes with “Consumption” where the band taps into an early Sonic Youth frequency. The song is chaotic, wild and pretty damn good. Jagged, dissonant guitar clashes with white and the whole thing feels like a bad case of vertigo.

The band has some success with “Dogs” as well except the production doesn’t sound as good when compared to  “Stalk Yrself.” I was digging the guitar riff and ominous waves of anxiety.

This band is cool and I like their vibe. That being said they really, really need to find a way for the recording quality to improve on their next release. Hopefully they can befriend an engineer or save up their ducats for some studio time. 

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