Drawing Dead- Adieu, Ciao, See You Soon

I was a little late to the party with writing about One Chord Wonder releases when I first reviewed The Manges "Plan Honolulu" just about a year ago but had been paying attention to what this label was doing since it's start! This means I of course was already familiar with a Milan band called Drawing Dead. Consisting of Mega's frontman, OCW's  CEO, and a couple members from Colin Farrell, this band had some promise to catch my interest with their debut self titled record and did! Punk rock that stays close to the elementary principle with a heavy streak of 90's passion is easy for me to love and that's exactly what they do, so it was great news to hear that they'd be starting to record some new material last summer. That's what I'd like to tell you about this time. An album called,  "Adieu, Ciao, See You Soon"!

The songs were recorded and mastered during August of 2014 at New Mood Recording Studio by Frederic Mazzei who also shared the role of producer along with Drawing Dead. Great sound from Freddy as always! The cover art is cool, featuring Stefano Bevilacqua's nicely shot photography of the band paired with a retro image from Django done by Raffaele Carrieri and it worked well! Release happened on January 16th and is a co-production between  One Chord Wonder and Banana Brain of Rufus Recordings Emporium for 150 LPs that come with a download code. 150 CDs were also made possible by Monkeyrite Rec. and Commando Records. Digital only can be found on OCW's bandcamp page and it's streaming in full.

The first thing I noticed in giving the LP a spin is that there is a definite progression in sound from the guys. They already had something cool going in the first record but the presentation this time overall is definitely a lot more polished and I like it! Track one, "Over The Storm" starts things strong and is a Robi tune. This guy is without a doubt, one of the Italian punk rock scene's most magnificent poets, coming in just after greats like Andrea Manges and Chris Polecat for me. He connects to an emotion and the words just build around a great song about moving past a big loss. Next up is a sweeter, mid tempo Dave led one called "Bad Girl" and it's a nice representation of that progression I mentioned with his vocals that have branched out of the rougher more straight punk tone and now offer more of a melodic approach. As a Tough fanatic, "Faster Than Biso" brought a big smile to my face and of course is one of my favorites on this record. Using Biso's drumming speed as a metaphor for the way a woman can quickly break a heart is pretty genius. That's like, lightening fast heartbreak haha! Romantic Dave is terrific(don't get me wrong!) ,but "Target: Lorraine" really shows his wit and sense of humor I like so much, focusing around the scene in Back To The Future where Marty scares the shit out of George and it has a really cool Riverdales influence too. I love that one and as an 80's movie junkie "Teen Wolf" also was a big hit with me. Boof, Stiles, Mick, and van surfing, it's all in there. Yeah! There's a lot of range in the thirteen tracks this album has to offer but the way it ends with two ballad style songs was a great move. Both "Million Piece Puzzle" and "How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye?" are beautifully arranged gems.

Somewhere around the release of "Adieu, Ciao, See You Soon", the band played it's last show and parted ways. It's a bummer to see things like that happen. Especially with a band that is steadily developing into something better with each move but hey, that's rock 'n' roll and things ended on a wonderful note with this LP! Make sure to add it to your collection by visiting OCW, Rufus Recordings, or Striped's webstores and stay tuned to each of the guys' individual efforts. Robi, Dave, Lollo, and King Mob are all passionate for what I believe in as a punk rocker and I'm glad they once made up a band called Drawing Dead.

Drawing Dead is...
Robi- Guitar and Vocals
Dave- Bass and Vocals
Lollo- Guitar and Backing Vocals
King Mob- Drums

Additional backing vocals on "Teen Wolf" by Freddy

Keyboard in "Bad Girl" and "How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye?" by Greta

All songs written by Drawing Dead

Tracks
Side A
1. Over The Storm
2. Bad Girl
3. Faster Than Biso
4. Target: Lorraine
5. A Coffin For You
6. New Tattoo
7. Blue On Blue
Side B
8. When You Love
9. If You Live, Shoot!
10. Shapeshifter
11. Teen Wolf
12. Million Piece Puzzle 
13. How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye?

Noise By Numbers- High On Drama

While I have nothing but admiration for all architects of pop punk, Dan Vapid is one who not only caught my interest from the very start but has retained it in spades to this very day. This is due to the many solid bands he's fronted/been a part of ever since I knew who he was and the fact that he possesses the capability to seamlessly incorporate different genres into his presence as a songwriter, each time producing a sound that's unique. A perfect example of this happened in late 2009. I was very excited to find out what a newer band fronted by him was all about when I first heard their debut LP, "Yeah, Whatever...". There was this great foundation of 90's melodic punk rock in the songs but they stood out to me for the added touches of alternative rock and sometimes even going into just an atmospheric realm. This newly created entity called Noise By Numbers gained my appreciation fast and the quality of their work only evolved from there through a couple splits, then one more full length release before things fell silent for them shortly after up until most recently! An announcement made last November that there would be an EP of previously recorded material coming out had me totally surprised so I saved the date and waited. That wait is finally over, which makes me very happy so here I am to tell you about "High On Drama"!

The songs were recorded in late 2011 by Jeff Dean and Jon Drew at Million Yen Studios in Chicago. Mixing was done by Jon Drew in Toronto who producer credits also go to along with Noise By Numbers. This is the same team that made up the recording process for "Over Leavitt" and the sound is once again fantastic. The cover art is simple, yet aesthetically pleasing featuring their well known logo against a varied shades of blue background painted by Ashley Fairley who's talents I've been a fan of for the past year. The layout was handled by Rick Uncapher. Digital release already happened on January 20th, courtesy of Jump Start Records. That can be found on iTunes or the label's bandcamp where it's also streaming in full but the good news for all members in the church of vinyl is: Yes! It will be available by the end of this month on either translucent blue or mixed split color. Can't wait to see and own those!

The first and title track "High On Drama" has been streaming ever since the release announcement was made, so I have of course already been in love with it since then. It never ceases to amaze me how powerful this band always is in the first moments of hearing new material from them. The arrangements are intricate and beautifully formed but never overdone and then there's Dan in the front to complete the process with his wonderful voice. The title essentially gives way to the lyrical content and it's a great result! That one song was enough convincing for me to swiftly make my way over to iTunes and download the EP. Previews should always have that effect! After grabbing my headphones, I settled in to hear the rest of the tracks and immediately loved what I heard with the under two and a half minute, hook heavy track two, "Are You Still My Enemy?". It kinda really reminds me of a Sludgeworth song almost with the way it's sang, sounds, and is a fine display of that melodic punk rock they execute so well. Both "Southgate House" that also made an appearance on their split with The Magnificent and "Town Of Hamburg" are two excellent narrative style songs. It's always cool to see a place through someones words and these were well done! Following next is a brilliant cover of The Lemonheads "Rudderless" and it is a perfect example of why I place Dan in the same category as someone like Joey Ramone as a vocalist. While many artists adapt to a cover, vocalists like him make the song adapt to them and that is what makes one worthy of including alongside original material. I had multiple reasons to love this EP as it was, but the last song "Make Up Your Heart" expands the list. This one has a really nice intro that builds to the verse, giving room for an awesome bassline from Rick to stand out and I like the way everything else threads around it. Lovely way to finish things out!

Noise By Numbers is a band that won my heart so quickly and I was nothing short of joyful to hear a little more from them. Not much more to say here other than go stream those songs and stay tuned to their facebook page for details about the LP! "High On Drama" is something I think will make a great addition to anyone's collection and is taking a spot in my best of 2015 already without a second thought. 

Noise By Numbers is...

Dan Schafer- Vocals and Guitar 

Jeff Dean- Guitar 

Rick Uncapher- Bass

Jimmy Lucido- Drums

All songs written by Noise By Numbers except for "Rudderless" by Evan Dando.

Tracks 

1. High On Drama 

2. Are You Still My Enemy?

3. Southgate House

4. Town Of Hamburg 

5. Rudderless 

6. Make Up Your Heart