NO BABIES is a five piece friend army from Oakland, California. Since forming in 2008, they've worked tirelessly to develop a unique 'new punk' sound influenced by jazz, art music and hardcore, not unlike Old Skull playing Schoenberg, while Magma heckles from the audience.

No Babies chooses to eschew the effects-drenched 60s garage cult of worship for an aggressive, hyper-present and harmonically dense sound that is as playful as it is relentless. You might run for cover as guitars, saxophones, drums or even whole band members whiz past your head in frantic childlike spasms of terror and joy, or choose to meet the nervous fury head on, and join in the churning bodily mayhem yourself.

'NO BABIES'

UTR047 | LP | 10 tracks, 20 minutes | April 2011

No Babies' 10 song debut LP is entitled 'No Babies'. Recorded by Steve Touchstone (KIT, xbxrx) and mastered by Weasel Walter (Flying Luttenbachers, xbxrx), this record captures the band's frenetic and idiosyncratic compositions perfectly.

From the moment the insistent snares and up-and-down rhythms kick in on the opening track "Tanuki", you are keenly aware of sinking into the topsy-turvy parallel world that No Babies thoughtfully weave through. Their ability to craft tonally and structurally complex songs brimming with cheer pushes them leagues ahead of typical punk rock fare.

In no time, you are caught up in the exuberant cavalcade of "Blurred Or Double-Vision" and the herky-jerky stops, starts and stabs of micro-song "196 Crayons". Every step of the funeral dirge "Morlocks Take Manhattan" is steeped in myrrh, until the song collapses into a dense dementia punctuated with pangs of guitar and soaring saxophone. The Lovecraftian-inspired "Bells" rumbles from disjointed archipelagos of sound into a rolling machinegun vortex of reeds and percussion.

The lyrics, at once abrasive and positive, range from harsh criticism of American imperialism in the Hawaiian Islands to evoking the exhilaration and unease of childhood and the triumphant power of friendship. This record is a portent of a band with an adept sound and endless potential.

NO BABIES

USA - August to October

29.08 - Los Angeles, CA - Pehrspace
30.08 - Phoenix, AZ - Yellow Canary Dance Hall
31.08 - Las Cruces, NM - La Casa Rosa
01.09 - Amarillo, TX - The Church
02.09 - Fort Worth, TX - 1919 Hemphill
03.09 - Austin, TX - House On The Corner
04.09 - New Orleans, LA - TBA
05.09 - Pensacola , FL - 309 House
06.09 - Orlando, FL - Substance Gallery
07.09 - Gainesville, FL - The Laboratory
08.09 - Mobile, AL - TBA
09.09 - Montgomery/Auburn/Birmingham, AL - TBA
10.09 - Nashville, TN - Betty's Bar and Grill
11.09 - Atlanta, GA - Wonderroot
12.09 - Athens, GA - Plush Palace
13.09 - Chapel Hill, NC - Nightlight
14.09 - Richmond, VA - Strange Matter
15.09 - Washington, DC - TBA
16.09 - Baltimore, MD - Emerald City
17.09 - Brooklyn, NY - Death By Audio
18.09 - Philadelphia, PA -Marvelous Records
19.09 - Pittsburgh, PA - TBA
20.09 - Detroit, MI - PJ's Lager House
21.09 - Cleveland, OH - Now That's Class
22.09 - Chicago, IL - TBA
23.09 - Iowa City, IA - Blue Moose Tap House
24.09 - Omaha, NE - House Show
25.09 - Manhattan, KS - The Ghost Parlor
26.09 - Denver, CO - Rhinoceropolis
27.09 - Salt Lake City, UT - Chthonic Records House
28.09 - Boise, ID - 208 House
29.09 - Seattle, WA - The Funny Button
30.09 - Vancouver, BC - Zoo Zhop
01.10 - Olympia, WA - Grandma's House
02.10 - Portland, OR - Watts House
03.10 - Reno, NV - The Holland Project
04.10 - Oakland, CA - TBA
05.10 - Sacramento, CA - TBA
06.10 - Los Angeles, CA - The Smell