The first I heard of Seattle streetpunkers NOI!SE was when the band were billed to share the stage with Rancid and Cock Sparrer at the Warfield in San Francisco back in March of this year.  At the time I kind of half clocked the name largely because of the play on the "Oi!" part of their name, which I admit did made me chuckle (just like Geoffrey Oi!cott does) .  Then almost by weird coincidence my uber compadre Matty Phelps posted the promo video for the band's 'Idle Action' track up on the Uber Rock Facebook group page and suddenly I wasn't laughing anymore.  This sounded like some pretty cool shit and I needed to hear some more.

Lucky for me then that I really didn't have to look far to find THE release with which to sample pretty much all of the NOI!SE back catalogue to date, as sitting right there within the virtual racks of hundreds of other cool releases on Step 1 Music was 'Pushing On' a 15 track CD that was just one 'Buy Now' click away from grasp. (You can almost hear the mouse click at this point can't you? Ha Ha)

This fifteen track CD brings together the band's 'Walk Beside Us' EP, the 'This Is Who We Are' 10", their spilt single with the Gestalts, and the aforementioned 'Idle Action' from another split 7" plus finally the previously unreleased 'War', to tell the story of NOI!SE so far.  Phew!!!!

So what do these guys sound like I hear you ask? Well NOI!SE are what you might call "meat and two veg" punk rockers. A band that whilst nailing their colours firmly to the mast of the U.S punk camp populated by the likes of Bad Religion, Rancid and A.F.I, also has more than just an eye on the U.K scene of the eighties, and it is the U.K influence that for me that lifts this collection out of being just another hard as nails streetpunk release and into the realms of making NOI!SE serious contenders.  I do have a few minor gripes with 'Pushing On' so I'll get these out of the way now - like the fact that in my opinion one or two tracks could do with being a minute or two shorter, and then with the number of different releases coupled together here you do get the sound levels of multiple recording studios, making it sound slightly disjointed, but once past these factors I have to admit this actually is a storming release, full to bursting point with choruses that will have you of "Woah Oah-ing" and "Oi! Oi!-ing" like a pwoppa nawty 'un.

Take 'Living For Today' for example, this tune has a chorus that is straight out of the Sick Of It All songbook of epic gang vocal, but it's all built on a full on guitar onslaught that means you can also hear elements of Minor Threat trying to get through - so that got you salivating yet?  Then try 'What Ever Happened To The Kids' next. This is also an open throttle experience that has one Doctor Martin in the Brassknuckle Boys camp and the other in the camp of Lars Fredericksen's Bastards -Smart!!!

And it doesn't stop there folks, tracks like 'Warrior Down', 'Reality TV', 'Walk Beside Us and my own album fave 'Pushing On' all sound like quality Gilman St influenced streetpunk, but it is the latter track that really sticks out for me, largely because it has an almost Axl-like lead drawl of a vocal that brings in a new Spaghetti flavoured influence to proceedings, and I have to admit I'm a sucker for tracks this super. Geddit.?

As for the aforementioned U.K influence you need look no further than the faithful retelling of Cock Sparrer's 'Take 'Em All' for a clue as to what Matt (bass/vocals), Nate (guitar/vocals), Justin (lead guitar) and Miko (drummer) must have felt like on that night at the Warfield back in March, and that folks brings me right back to my first experience of NOI!SE via the truly excellent 'Idle Action', the video of which you can watch below.

'Pushing On' comes highly recommended for those of you who like your punk rock music with its aggro in all the right places. So think of what a toughened up version of 'Black Tape' era Explosion might sound like, or perhaps imagine A.F.I with Jake Burns singing for them (surreal that I know), but first and foremost think of the name NOI!SE because it's a fucking beautiful thing we have here people. Just don't let it escape your attentions for too long.

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