Nixa are a 4 piece hard rock band from London that have been around for approximately the last 3 years. They have won praise from various press and publications including Kerrang, Rock Sound and the London Metro Newspaper, and have been referred to as “One of the top 10 unsigned acts in the UK today”. They’ve recently released their new Guerilla E.P. to coincide with a recent UK and Irish tour, so lets take a listen and see what we think.
Opener 33 is arguably the strongest track on the album with several tempo and style changes almost bordering on Prog Rock at times and in other places the song feels like it would fit quite nicely on a Foo Fighters album. The opening riff is very catchy and the despite the tempo changes the song flows very well.
Everyone’s An Expert begins with a softer tone before building with a sound almost reminiscent of early Jimmy Eat World (mixed with growling vocals) and it is a song that you imagine would have people simultaneously banging their heads but also appreciating the softer elements of the track. It showcases good variety from the first track (but you never get the impression from their sound that Nixa are a band lacking in ideas, far from it).
Clarity is a more mid tempo track which again makes me think it wouldn’t be out of place on a Jimmy Eat World album in both the sound of the song and the lyrical style and vocal delivery, however I would class that as a big compliment to Nixa. The track is catchy, particularly the bass/drum section towards the end of the track and it is pretty much guaranteed to have you reached for the repeat button on iTunes or your player of choice.
This Is A Test is the last track on the E.P. and is a good old fashioned rock song with some crunching riffs, a good pace, good lyrics and will put a smile on your face and is a good end to the Guerilla E.P.
The band list The Foo Fighters and Biffy Clyro amongst their influences and you can hear tinges of both these acts in their style, particular The Foos in some of the vocal style. I’m sure if they could have a quarter of the success of either band they would be very happy, but if they keep writing material like this then they’ve got a good shot of getting signed and moving up to the next level. They clearly are not trying to be any other band, they have taken bits and pieces on board from things they like and fused them together into a very good, distinctive sounding collection of songs.
The band are planning a full length album in 2010 so I very much look forward to seeing if they can sustain their momentum over a full length album. This E.P. comes highly recommended. Go and get it. Right now.
