This Time Will Be Different. Nore

Nore is a five piece band from Tilburg on which I cannot find a lot of information easily, so gave up. Let the music do the talking and that seems to work out quite well. Should you listen like I do, then I have to start with a warning: keep listening past the first songs to truly start appreciating how good Nore is. 

Let's start with where I place Nore, as the band makes its debut on this blog, despite having released an EP previously. My inclination is to place the band into the alternative rock segment, where it tries to carve out its own section. Comparisons can be made to Dakota/Loupe at the beginning of the album, after which a band like POM comes to mind and from there even a band like Wolf Alice. And not just because the sound is familiar. Nore is able to soar to great heights itself with ease. By then the alternative rock has taken on symphonic rock elements as well. Even a poprock song in the vein of Rondé can be heard. In short, Nore touches a lot a ground on its second EP. I prefer to call it a mini album, as This Time Will Be Different contains no less than seven songs.

I have to correct myself, as first song 'Alive And Well' lasts only 3,40 minutes but comes across as a three song suite. So, please do listen to the song. 'Alive And Well' manages to turn itself and its listeners upside down and sideways a few times. From a delicate beginning, things rise and rise. Slowly the tension is built until it explodes no little. Guitars, keyboards, weird synth sounds take over and only step aside for a last line by singer Tessa while the rest is fading away into the background and out of earshot.

Promo photo

'Alive And Well' is an example that can stand as a model for the whole of This Time Will Be Different. Nore is not afraid of exploring what a song can contain or change into, without becoming a freak show. This is not doing difficult things because the band can, this is all about making the most interesting song possible and walking unknown trails perhaps leading there or left behind when it doesn't work.

Let me put 'Daisy' up as another example. Nore picks elements from jazz and prog rock to tells its story. But like a great band from long ago, U.K., Nore manages to put a pop element into the music at the right time creating a song and not a composition. 'Daisy' fully works in this respect. as do all other songs. Each one will surprise you along the way.

Nore is a totally new name to me, but it's place here is fully deserved. This Time Will Be Different is varied, but above all good. The album deserves to be heard by all people who love good pop and rock songs. This is why I wanted you to listen past the first few songs, to discover how rich they are.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght