Nehoda – But Anyways… : Album Review

By John Barlass on 30th September 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

Nehoda – But Anyways…. The debut studio album from the Nashville rock trio.

Release Date: 2nd October 2020

Label: Independent

Format: DL

Patrick Nehoda is a 6’ 7” ex-firefighter, formerly based in Seattle but now working out of Nashville. The music he makes sure matches the expectation that such a background conjures up.

His music is grungy yet melodic, sometimes poppy, sometimes bluesy, sometimes reaching out to Americana but always underpinned by fuzzy, ominous, heavy-laden guitar, and topped by a sonorous but tuneful voice. On But Anyways… Patrick is ably supported by Jeremy Gill on drums and Grayson Papa on bass and, together, they’ve produced an album of great variety.

There’s nothing really complex here, just a lot of well-played and well-produced tunes, lots of old-fashioned riffing and one or two pretty memorable moments. If you still need a clue to the musical flavour of the album, the nearest comparisons are probably Neil Young with Crazy Horse or The Foo Fighters.

The album gets off to a breezy start with I Don’t Know. A serving of simple riffage that delivers a classically structured heavy rock song, setting the theme for much of what is to come. Lies is slower, tuneful and plaintive, that is, until the full band kick in 2/3 of the way through, then we’re rocking again. Shakey Pop does what it says on the tin. It’s a joyous, almost poppy indie rocker that invokes images of a packed and jumping concert audience. Walk Away is a more rootsy offering, the album’s closest take on classic Americana and probably the most obviously melodic of the collection. Afterglow is built upon a nice, slow, riff that builds excitingly to morph into a satisfyingly rocky coda.

For me, the standout tracks are Devil’s Bitch, an ominous tale told over a plodding, ponderous backing that gets louder and grungier as the song progresses until it surrenders itself to full-bore heavy metal that recalls early 70s Black Sabbath; But Anyways… (the title track) is a tuneful and eventually anthemic centrepiece and Just Another Season builds solidly and dramatically to the climax in which Patrick repeatedly screams “Why, why do I ever try?” Passion and tenderness are laced liberally over each of these songs, in pretty well equal measures.

The album concludes with Please Don’t Go. Perhaps the tenderest song on the album, tuneful and impassioned and an excellent way to close off a fascinating album.

It is clear that significant effort and thought has been put into achieving the clean production standards that are a feature of But Anyways…. The guitar, drums and bass are in perfect balance. Quite an achievement as the album has apparently been recorded using live tracking, no overdubs and no edits, with the intention of delivering a sound that is as close to the band’s live experience as possible – and it’s worked!

Have a listen here: