Sweden-based NONONO is an awesome band still in the midst of making a name for themselves in the music world, so imagine my delight when, while grooving away at a club in Dublin last weekend, “Jungle,” from their most recent album, We Are Only What We Feel, comes blaring from the DJ booth. Aw, hell yeah.
This makes sense—the trio seems to making their way through the genre of electronic pop with the kind of crazy beats that you don’t need rhythm to dance to. Aforementioned “Jungle” is perfect for this, along with “Fire Without a Flame.” In songs like “Pumpin Blood,” they keep up their upbeat optimism but in a more commercial way. (I see Coke and cell phone advertisements in the song’s future. It might say something if Glee did your song better than you.)
One of the best songs of the albums is “Echo.” What can I say? I guess I like being sad. It’s one of those “figuring out how to get over you when you won’t leave my head” kind of songs and offers a nice break from the high-paced energy of the rest of the album. Besides that, it is another one of those wonderful moments when the artists seem to be connecting with their work in a way that perhaps is more intimate than listeners are meant to be a part of. In songs like “Hungry Eyes,” we get grasps of these intimate moments—while on one level we experience the songwriter’s feelings through the poignant lyrics and upbeat song structure, it is also difficult to completely get away from the fact that… well, it’s another inspirational pop album.
We Are Only What We Feel