ALBUM REVIEW: Distorted Reality – No Signal
Genre-defying alternative trio NO SIGNAL are back with their fifth full-length record Distorted Reality. As you may be able to gather from the title, and if you’re familiar with their work, you already know about the intense journey the band are about to undertake – an exploration of humanity and the blurred lines between our reality and a dystopian world. To simply label NO SIGNAL as a rock band would be a disservice and, well, it’s not as simple as that given their ability to take the listener on an emotional journey that lets you experience everything.
From start to finish the band keep their listeners on their toes with what’s to come next. Opening with entropele , they kick off with violins that build in intensity before a gentle piano comes in, offering a lovely juxtaposition between the calm and the dread, you can’t relax because something doesn’t feel right. Paired with beautiful vocals, it then shocks you when the next track Jane goes in the complete opposite direction of grunge rock that once again builds in intensity and results in an incredible heavy drum and guitar breakdown that has you sat there mouth agape and all.
As mentioned, Distorted Reality takes listeners through all the emotions; when it’s energetic you feel uplifted, and when it’s slow it feels like reality is about breakdown on itself, so maybe don’t enter this if you’re not in the best mindspace. It’s genuinely hard to compare this to other artists due to its otherworldly style, but there are rare moments that do feel reminiscent of different bands. For example, eucildean surprise has lo-fi vibes that bring to mind the likes of GORILLAZ during their slower songs, and tracks like C&B and Stranger have that same electronic, theatrical rock style you would expect to see MUSE performing, especially with the moments covering full dystopian realities with the littered satire news pieces and distorted noises that bring you into a sci-fi world of uncertainty.
Honestly it would take such a long time to list every single moment that stands out and every genre that NO SIGNAL touches on here. You experience everything and you find yourself in a trance-like state throughout, whether due to the slower songs or due to standout rock breakdowns. To be honest, you need to listen to it for yourself to have the full experience as our words would fail to do it justice. It’s just incredible with what NO SIGNAL have done here.
Rating: 8/10
Distorted Reality is set for release on August 25th via self-release.
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