Seventh Wave – No Fun At All

Seventh Wave is, you guessed it, No Fun At Alls seventh studio album. Being one of the first bands I started listening to as I dived into Burning Heart Records catalogue of awesome bands in the late 90’s, I was excited to see what they’ve cooked up this time. I’m gonna be honest though, their last two albums flew me by pretty unnoticed when they where released. It’s during the past year I’ve actually listened to them for real, and they have really grown on me from then.

Seventh Wave opens up in an easy recognizable furious fashion. Fans who have been around since the start some 30 years ago will most definitely feel like home from the beginning. The speed is there, together with Ingemars voice which hasn’t changed that much during the years, only having become a slight bit more mature. The lyrical abilities is there as well, showcasing the more serious side of the band which has been much more prominent the last releases, even though it’s certainly been there from the beginning. NFAA has never been outright political, instead focusing on more general societal issues and trends, which is splendidly captured on this record.

NFAA has gone through some changes in their musical style since the start, perhaps most noticeable on State of Flow, which was daring but the fans of the band might not have agreed all the way. On this album they change up the tempo a bit in some songs, leaning a bit more towards the sound present on State of Flow. That might have split the fans a bit before, but when it’s mixed in with the rest of the tracks that has the more classic sound, it’s a fresh and needed change in pace and a showcase of the musical diversity this band is capable of.

Production on this record is also very clean and slick, especially compared to 08’s Lowrider that often sounded a bit muddled, thanks to Millencolin/Franky Lee member Mathias Färm who has done a good job on the production. On Seventh Wave it’s clean and crisp, although on the brink of loosing a bit of a solid bottom in the lower registers, but doesn’t tip over to the point of sounding too weak.

This record is among the best material that the band has produced in some time. Long time fans will feel welcomed, and new fans will be able to hear the width of this bands talent. Personally it might not be the crashing two or three waves that I felt listening to their first releases, but there’s a comforting sound coming from this Seventh Wave, and I can hear a band that have grown and matured together with me. I can only congratulate on managing to stay together and still feel relevant after so long, and it feels like No Fun At All still has more to give.