Customer Reviews

Plays Pretty for Baby

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This thing is intensely unique. Combining elements of DC's straight-edge scene (Minor Threat, Fugazi et al) and New York's best noise artists (Sonic Youth, Richard Hell) with excessive socio-political diatribes, Nation of Ulysses create an album singular in its urgency. The CD struck me like a letter bomb, tempting me with an ambiguous spoken monologue in the first track, and then blowing up in my face with "A Comment on Ritual" (my vote for standout track). I can only wonder why these guys didn't get more attention. Were they too dangerous? In any case, I think if they continued, they would have spontaeously combusted within a matter of months.

Rhetoric beyond compare! Combines Situationist dogma with howling, American noise rock. Any album that has a song title,"The Kingdom of Heaven Must Be Taken By Storm" has got to be good! A must buy! Good punk rock without usual clap-trap.

One of the truly unique bands to emerge from the early-90s Dischord scene with their statement album. NOU can be writen off for any number of things: their penchant for sophmoric noise, comic-politico stance, overstated haircuts and suits, smarmy didacticism. Yet somehow, they overcame all of that and produced a album thats incendiary, informed and confrontational all at once. A true beam of inspiration.

this is one of the best albums i have ever listened to combining tim greens awesome guitar works with the screaming of ian svenouis is jsut sheer genius to bad this band broke up but look what bands have came out of it gomboa svenouis and canty all went to cupid car club and the make up and tim is doing all sorts of crazy stuff and i cant find anywhere that distros out his stuff :oP he also produces alot of stuff as well

About one minute into this album, you get kicked in the face. Leaps and bounds from the inferior "13 Point Plan to Destroy America," every song here, from the sex-crazed "Hickey Underworld," to the raging "Maniac Dragstrip" is a bona-fide anthem. If you've never heard N.O.U. before, think a quirkier, noisier Fugazi without Ian Mackaye's vocals. I just wish this band stuck around long enough to implement their plan.

An entertaining band that owes its sound to a single song from Mission of Burma --- "New Nails."

Limited and derivative in that sense musically, but still loads of fun. Reviewer below has it when he wonders if this is a self-mocking middle class joke. That's exactly what it is, from the opening in which the listening audience is insulted. But, it's very well done and it represents a certain erudite disrespect among DC suburban kids that I have not heard captured this well anywhere else.

This is not a hardcore album, and it's not immediately obvious why it appears on the Dischord label except that it's a smart album by a bunch of punk kids that probably could have spent their time instead getting into Harvard or solving the Rubick's cube in 20 seconds.

But, this band is not an evolution of anything from the MacKaye circle of music -- it doesn't sound anything like Fugazi, Minor Threat, Rites of Spring, or Bad Brains. As stated above, its musical basis is a single song of Mission of Burma. If you don't know the song "New Nails" by Burma -- you won't believe it when you listen. It approaches facsimile.

Because this album is that dangerous. the first time i heard it i felt like i was going to jump out of my skin, its that rocking. mix middle eastern terrorist dogma with dc punk rock, add a pinch of john coltrane and serve with a shot of nitroglycerine (because you don't know when this baby's gonna go off) to your non-converted friends. the disc is essentially a soundtrack to WTO demonstrations and will have you chanting "the nation of ulysses must prevail!" don't buy this online, get on your bike and get to your local independent record store and buy it right now! stop wasting time!

Anyone not aware of the NOU is really missing out on some great music.

Holy Smoke. This is the bomb. Tight suits and skinny ties, and pomp hair styles! Musically this music will kick your butt. There are two slow jazz songs on here and then the rest is just a cough syrup and caffeine fueled sound explosion. The album packaging is so fun you will feel like a kid fresh from the comic book stand. Like the first album, there's alot of thought provoking reading material in the cd booklet. The CD version (as opposed to the LP) has the "Ulysses Aesthetic" 7" included. Very tight. Spandex tight.
Don't drink cough syrup while listening to this, cause then it starts making more sense than it normally might.

Definately a fantastic CD. NoU takes a bit of getting used to, but eventually it just grabs you and doesn't let go.

Track this CD down. It's well, well worth it.