SHREDnews

By: Jonny Drybanski

Massachusetts locals Nemes 865, (pronounced “Nee-miss”) set out to make a name for Bay State rockers with their debut 865 EP. Started by brothers Christopher and David Anthony (drums and guitar/vocals respectively,) in Shrewsbury, MA, Nemes is a youthful, original and energetic band that once again affirms the role of the suburban teenager in rock and roll history.

The EP flows together as a collection of short but hard hitting rock anthems peppered with genre bending folk-punk violin breakdowns that will surely become their claim to relevance in a market full of generic punk poppers.

Nordic takes its time to reach terminal velocity, lingering on a sustained violin chord, letting the thick and thunderous drum patterns sink in before moving forward. The violin is more at the forefront here than most of the EP with lyrical phrases backing and echoing behind the opening vocal work, giving listeners a taste before launching into an all out rock onslaught which begs for an audience to sing along with it, and only hope to match the intensity of Nemes.

Stray Cat emerges from the aftermath of Nordic into a fast paced punk party, and incorporates the violin in short breaks of folk influences which meld surprisingly well with the less lighthearted tones of the punk-rock realm.

Two Weeks takes a new angle, using the violin as more of an accompaniment in the rock style rather than the stylistic amalgam used previously. The result is solid rock song with the added spice of violin timbre that will make it stand out in a playlist of of similar rock oriented arrangements.

Headwops continues in a simliar vain, with a pleasantly bluesy opening chord progression, morphing into their familiar rock style with loud vocal breaks. The song comes together nicely with the first guitar solo of the EP which is greatly enhanced by the high harmonies offered by the violin.

Untitled closes out the demo with a rather puzzling frankenstein of growling destortion, feedback, electronic rumblings and haphazard shouts.

Nemes plays on a solid foundation of pop punk roots calling to mind influences of genre giants like Blink-182 and Brand New, but thanks to the delightfully unexpected twist given by the violin chops of Josh Knowles, the band successfully stitches a folksy ‘down on the bayou’ two-step flavor seamlessly into their expertly executed punk rock structure, and fearlessly converts the violin to a rock instrument to further differentiate their sound. The result is nothing short of refreshing.

Rating: 9/10

For Listeners Of: Blink 182, New Found Glory, Brand New, Yellow Card

Top Tracks:

Headwops

Stray Cat

Nordic