Album Review: Not On Tour - 'All This Time'

There’s something to be said for browsing Bandcamp aimlessly, as from such modest endeavours can come the unearthing of gems like Not On Tour. Churning out some of the fastest and catchiest, hardcore punk around, Israeli outfit Not On Tour, fronted by girl a million times spunkier than Hayley Williams, makes their obscurity a crime. Think Paramore, in their ‘Misery Business’ era and add to that bucket loads of aggression, raw power and speed, and you’ve still only got a vague idea of what Not On Tour are all about. Their 16-track album, All This Time is an exhilarating rollercoaster of brief but explosive tunes that leaves you like an addict, wanting so much more.

All This Time is short, fast and loud. The first track ‘I Wanna Be Like You’ is proof of this; jump starting the album with the gritty female vocals that drives the band’s unique hardcore punk sound, and plenty of stimulating ferocity in the drum tracks and guitar work. While the band’s female front-woman has all the attitude and dominance needed for a band like Not On Tour, it is also quickly established into the second track, ‘Banks,’ that, unlike some bands of the same genre, she can really sing.

Next up is the title track - one of the most memorable as well as the longest on the album. Most of the songs are lacking a traditional verse-chorus-verse structure, however in ‘All This Time’ and ‘Over Night’ the band have chosen to throw in some impossibly infectious choruses into the mix. Following this, ‘That’s Why,’ while significantly slower in pace, in comparison to the rest of the record still provides that energised, punk that Not On Tour specialise in, with dashes of old style hardcore influences.

‘Oded’, a song that seems to be about the writer’s affections for someone called Oded is followed soon after by the extremely short and punchy ‘Modern Slavery’ which, at just over forty seconds, addresses the dilemma of being in a little-paid, dead end job. Instead of being a con, the calculated choice to keep all their songs brief is one that pays off brilliantly for Not On Tour. With succinct one-minute tracks leading into even shorter ones, the band never seem to stop for breath, a quality that gives you an insight into what their live shows would be like.

There isn’t enough word space or time to completely emphasise how exciting and refreshing ‘Not On Tour’ really are. What started out as a joke for the band, became the explosive talent of ‘Not On Tour’ who, if there is any justice in the music industry, are unlikely to stay unnoticed for long.

1. I Wanna Be Like You

2. Banks

3. True Illness

4. All This Time

5. Stay Home

6. That's Why

7. Darling

8. Over Night

9. Operation Running

10. The Question Came Up

11. Tunnel

12. Modern Slavery