Review: No Use For a Name

nouse
No Use For a Name
“Hard Rock Bottom”
(Fat Wreck Chords)

For those of you who thought NUFAN had crossed that sugar-coated line into power-pop after listening to 1999’s “More Betterness!”-do yourself a favor and pick up “Hard Rock Bottom”.  Following up on the success of last year’s “Live in a Dive” album, No Use and producer/sidekick Ryan Greene (Lagwagon, NOFX, among others) rip through thirteen new tracks featuring driving beats, slick guitars, and Tony Sly’s melodic, wry lyrics.  “Hard Rock Bottom”, while still not as heavy or edgy as NUFAN’s first two Fat Wreck releases, still kicks enough ass to satisfy even the most demanding fan (which would probably be myself).  Ballads, anthems, and even a cover of a Sinead O’Connor (no, it’s not ‘Nothing Compares’) song will keep this one in your Discman for a while.  Other than a few tracks on the album, ‘Any Number Can Play’ comes to mind, the San Jose based foursome keep the wanking about to a minimum, allowing the roughness of Sly’s baritone to beautifully compliment his bandmates’ sound.   No Use will be touring on the omni-present Vans’ Warped Tour this summer, so get your tickets early and mark the June 18th release date on your calendar.  And don’t forget to brush your tongue because nobody likes bad breath.