Barbaro - Nolte

Good bands just don't stay together long enough anymore. It's an all to common occurrence anymore for a band to release one great album and call it quits shortly after. This practice deeply saddens me each time it happens, however the positives are that former members generally go on to do something else of interest. Then again, the chances of it not being anywhere near as good as the previous project is always there too. The Boston based Barbaro are one these bands, however some of the members went on to do other worthwhile things as opposed to sucking it up in some other band. Most notable is Andrew Schneider who would later put together another great band with Placer, which I assume is also now defunct. Schneider also went on to do some producing work, mostly with Cave-In as their go to man for such things.

The album Nolte was the bands only release, as they broke up during the recording of it. With it though, they left a sprawling sludgy mess across 11 tracks. I listen to this album and think of what could of possibly been had they stayed together for a longer period of time, because the combination of their lumbering bass driven rock with just a touch of blues here and there created a fairly pummeling sound. That said though, just as fast as the band could run you over and leave you for dead, they could impress with some fine tight and clever songwriting. Seamlessly the band manages to work in catchy melodies into their heavy tight niched sound, helping along the way are the duel male/female vocals providing as a nice accent along side of it all. I actually dig the girls voice for the most part, and the songs for which they are prominently featured serve as some of my favorites off the album oddly enough. I highly recommend this album, as it's surprisingly unique and just a really solid record. It deserves a bit of attention.

Barbaro - My Teeth Are Falling Out [MP3]
Barbaro - Leaves Like Ice [MP3]
Barbaro - Spend [MP3]


Buy Barbaro - Nolte here!