Nodzzz

iTunes Review

San Francisco’s Nodzzz are like a sunny day at the beach, including the part where the sand creeps into places it shouldn’t and the sunscreen fails. Breezy, fun and raucous, there’s enough edge and imperfection to their sound that repeated listenings continue to be an adventure. The clanging, martial guitars on tunes like “Is She There” (a standout with its acoustic guitar punctuations) and “Simple Song” have all the vigor of early post-punk, and several shambling, shouted-vocals songs, like “Highway Memorial Shrine” and “I Can’t Wait” also have that vintage, been-here-before feeling. Nodzzz brings something new to the noise-pop scene by blending prototypical post-punk trappings with songs that are doused in a D.I.Y. kind of sweetness that turns their rawness into something a little smoother. “(I Have) Bad News” skips along on a jaunty, faintly whispered melody woven into the guitars, and “I Was My Parents’ Vision” is dotted with “la la la’s” falling like confetti at a kids’ birthday party. There’s definitely a kid-like sense of fun here, but these semi-sweet morsels of indie pop are aimed squarely at the young twenty-something who’s looking real life in the face with some trepidation.