NO: Local Band We Love

Bradley Hana Carter’s first band, Steriogram. Their Green Day-ish pop punk sound never resonated with me. When I was at Indie 103.1 we played their hit “Walkie Talkie Man” in regular rotation. It burned on me pretty quick, but it was nice to see a band from New Zealand raising some eyebrows here in the states.

Today, I am a huge fan of Carter’s music thanks to his new band NO. Carter settled in LA in 2007 and recently began recording with bassist Sean Daniel Stentz. Now a five piece, NO have been playing lots of shows around town.

The un-Googleable group released their first EP “Don’t Worry You’ll Be Here Forever” for free on their website a couple of months ago and it’s an excellent start. The gorgeous baritone Carter summons is impressive, reminding me of soulful crooner Richard Hawley and Matt Berninger from The National at times. Check out “Stay With Me” and download it via Soundcloud.

Stay With Me by NO.

They’ve received huge interweb coverage the past couple of months, and one listen to the EP reveals why. The songs are excellent and the production is moody and beautiful.

While recently chosen by NME as one of the top 100 bands to watch in 2012, I’d give them a little more credit by putting them in my top 10 of bands to watch in 2012. They’re actually playing with another of my top ten to watch in 2012, Electric Flower, tonight at the Echoplex.

If you see a tall dorky guy giggling like a school girl at the show tonight, it’s probably me. Say hi and try not to laugh.

Best,

Chuck P.

NO on twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/nomusicforme