Never Been Famous - Mesh Of Lies

Tracklist: 

01.The Canadians Have Huge Squirrels Though 

02.Mr. Ceo 

03.Mesh Of Lies 

04.Obsolete 

05.Try To Be 

06.No Antidote 

07.Exit Main 

08.Telling The Truth 

09.Blue Eyed Sandbag 

10.Club Of Desperation 

11.Separation Of Powers 

12.One By One 

Release date: February 29, 2012
Label: Bells On Records
Band website: Never Been Famous at Melodic Punk Style

Reviewed by Marcus

After a few years of writing and weekend studio time, the guys from Never Been Famous (NBF) officially released their first album “Mesh of Lies” on January 1st, 2012. As the saying goes, “Patience is a virtue but time is gold!” And with this album, you really get a sense that there was no rush in putting it out until everything was done properly from A to Z. And might I add that it came out in a beautiful digipak. (In terms of their independent Austrian release)

As a follow-up to their 2007 “Charged” EP, which was more in the “punk rock” vein, the guys wanted to add more variability with “Mesh of Lies” and you can hear it from song to song with punk rock, rock, metal and even ska. With that being said though, the overall sound can still be compared to bands like Strung Out, No Trigger and A Wilhelm Scream. It’s always important to stay to your roots and play what you love; these guys still believe in their musical roots which is key to their success since 2002. Another turning point for the band is when their bassist and friend Jo left a few years ago (after the “Charged” EP) due to personal reasons. The guys were in need of a bassist but instead of getting a new member, Tom simply switched to bass (previously on guitar, the band had three guitars pre-“Mesh of Lies”). The point I’m trying to make is that the bond between the NBF members is very strong, since childhood, and adding a new face was never in the plans.

The first track off the album, “The Canadians have huge squirrels though”, is a track dedicated to a Canadian… yours truly. It contains moments of ska and straight up punk rock. Lyrically it has many inside jokes but all in all it focuses on the following: South Park references, our huge squirrels in Canada (and the fascination that Europeans have over them), and a member of NBF mistakenly only saying “Back” during my interview with the band in Steyr in 2009… the member saying that he played guitar and “sung a bit”. So as you see, this first song is lyrically, a fun song, and the first for NBF so it was sweet to see the band go that route for a change. The remaining songs from the album discuss important aspects of our society such as the economy, the music industry, poverty, law enforcement and even love. But nobody should label these guys as “emo” or they’ll have to answer to me and our huge nut eating squirrels.

“Try To Be”, the fifth track and a favourite of many, can definitely be categorized as the single on “Mesh of Lies”. Vocally, Jan has a different delivery compared to other NBF songs I’ve heard. And another sweet part of this song is the bridge and let me say that the guys put an emphasis on them, a very strong point of their song writing.

On “No Antidote” I definitely hear some Jack Rentokill from Jan around the 1:08 mark. The tone and the way he delivers that line is so similar to his fellow countryman. Moving further, “Telling the Truth” is my personal favourite due to the strong-willed lyrics and fantastic melodies; simple yet it “meshes” well as a whole. At this point of the album, you can really tell that the guys have a lot going on musically which can be attractive to many ages. Near the end, you get “Club of Desperation”, which is a track the band released as a demo a few years back and due to its popularity and ska’ish inclusion, it was a definite keeper, and it’s all about the chorus in this one. In ending, NBF deliver “One By One” which is the most upbeat track on the album. Finishing with a bang, not a quickly written acoustic!

After a full listen or a few, you’ll notice that this album can simply be categorized in one word: quality. Recorded by the mysterious wonder known as “Master Schnippl”, it makes you wonder why most bands need to record at the $$$ studios. “Mesh of Lies” will open many new doors for NBF and I can already tell you that they aren’t shutting anytime soon.