No Sector: Mercury Poisoning
I like a lot of different kinds of music: psychedelic, offbeat, avant-garde, obnoxious, or straightforward pop and rock. I don’t mind if it’s ancient, new, progressive, challenging, or orthodox. Whatever, however, whoever –I simply love music. I’m sure you do too.
Punk-wise, I often listen to bands recycling iterations of virtually identical ideas. That might sound reductive – or a bit same old, same old – but I enjoy listening to bands refining familiar format points or making minor adjustments while attempting to stamp their mark on a well-worn patch of ground. I don’t have a problem with artistic repetition. Nor do I see toying with the same stock-standard tropes as a negative.
That’s probably because I’m a long-time fan of groups like Hawkwind, The Fall, and Motörhead (and a million indistinguishable d-beat bands). I am well attuned to bands that work a familiar groove over and over in search of creative fulfilment. Sure, Hawkwind, The Fall, and Motörhead didn’t break any new ground after their initial scene-setting endeavours, but they always delivered what their fans desired.
My point is that releases don’t have to be filled with brand-spanking innovations to satisfy your hunger for new music. With minor tweaks, music can sound familiar but still feel entirely fresh. And it’s no insult to musicians who’ve released new music to point to obvious influences or historical precursors.
This is a long-winded way of saying that No Sector’s Mercury Poisoning EP is simultaneously old and new. No Sector are based in Aotearoa New Zealand’s capital city, Wellington, and Mercury Poisoning follows on from the four-piece band’s first release, Demo 1984=2024, which was co-released by local labels Razored Raw and Limbless Music. No Sector describe their music as “Punk/Punk/Punk”, and in a world filled with pretentious affectations, it’s a relief to press play on an EP that has zero interest in any on-trend bullshit.
Punk it is, and punk’s what you get. No Sector tear through six songs on Mercury Poisoning, all of which mix UK82’s stomp with Scandi hardcore’s drive and protest punk’s sneer. No Sector’s vocalist, Caroline, has an (almost) Sprechgesang – and (not-quite) Subhumans – style that falls halfway between singing and speaking and offers a crucial point of contrast amongst the band’s sheet-metal noise.
Lyrically, modernity’s woes and the subsequent hopelessness we all feel are mentioned. But while the topics explored on “The More You Kill, The Less We Care” and “Flush Your Brain” are bleak, the music within is explosive and contagious. Punchy guitars, propulsive bass, and pounding drums drive “Tactical Chaos” and “80HG”, while “No Jobs” and “Wall Smell” are red-lining rippers built from crude materials that maximise their combined strengths.
Mercury Poisoning was recorded/mixed by No Sector drummer (and Razored Raw guv'nor) Matai, who has engineered a million blistering raw recordings for local punk and hardcore bands. Mercury Poisoning isn’t as lo-fi as many of Razored Raw’s other releases, but it definitely isn’t hi-fi either. The EP balances its abrasiveness and catchiness extremely well. The music here isn’t pop-friendly, but Mercury Poisoning is spiked with hooks that are plain to see (and hear) amid all the crashing punk.
No Sector’s fusion of super-tough instrumentation and Caroline’s distinctive vocals is the key here. It enables their music to be rowdy but catchy, and also threaded with an undercurrent of anarcho punk’s eccentricity. No Sector aren’t reinventing the wheel on Mercury Poisoning. But they are tinkering under the hood. The band adjust and remould familiar components to deliver something that’s both familiar and new. I’d call that a win-win for us and the band. Mercury Poisoning is a blast. Get some.
Note: Total 7” press limited to 110 copies in NZ and 110 copies in Australia.
Overseas – contact R.I.P. Peace for copies and overseas distros.
Aotearoa homies – see Razored Raw for wholesale, local pickups, etc.
