Fuse

Considering what a dynamic band Nicfit is, its somewhat surprising that it took them over a decade to release their debut album. Then again, Fuse shows that the time the Nagoya, Japan-based quartet spent playing shows with groups like DMBQ and Thee Oh Sees and issuing the occasional single or EP (all of which were collected on a self-titled compilation in 2021) paid off. More cohesive and more crazed than any of those short-form releases, Fuse gives the band ample room for their frenetic racket. "Unleash" sets the tone for the rest of the album, with Hiromis klaxon-like wail riding high above the lurching bass line, metallic percussion, and noise-damaged riffs set forth by her bandmates. Every track on the album is so animated that its practically visible; "Deviation," for example, creates a striking portrait of isolation with free-falling guitars and vocals. Nicfit borrow from hardcore, noise rock, and no wave with such abandon that it makes for a sound all their own, even if they make it easy to spot their roots at times (the influence of James Chance & the Contortions is felt heavily, and Fuse ends with a cover of Urinals "Ack Ack Ack"). Whether they mash these styles together or take them on one by one, as they do on the title tracks gloriously fragmented yet grooving anti-conformity rant, Nicfits experience and chemistry shines. From "Flux"s surfy undercurrents to the heavy-booted stomp of "Human Inane" to "Anxiety"s fractured anti-pop, Fuse is a whirlwind of a debut album. ~ Heather Phares