Astronomicon appeared earlier this year through Iron Lung Records, a label befitting of Nudity members’ backgrounds in hardcore. On the band’s debut, however, Nudity harks more to punk’s forebears, the early Seventies acts that prized towering riffs, punchy drums, and theatric flare. The Alice Cooper Band looms mightily, while glam rock’s charred sparkle is reflected in Nudity’s queasy synth lines and sprightly guitar. Builds, turnarounds, and extended instrumental passages foreground the players’ proficiency while evading the showy obnoxiousness of prog. “(I’ve Got the) Death Energy” is nine minutes long and convincing, especially with that bizarre passage of vocoder — an effect that’s rife for reclamation by punk. Nudity appears on Thursday at Eli’s Mile High Club (3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland).
Astronomicon LP (LUNGS-062) by NUDITY
Nudity. Nudity.
