From their formation in Kiel in 1979 through to the band’s initial dissolution in 1986, No More occupied a significant presence in the first wave of Germany’s post-punk / No Wave scene. To most international listeners though they’re probably best known for their distinctly nihilistic 1981 single ‘Suicide Commando’, more recently remixed by the likes of DJ Hell and borrowed by the industrial band of the same name. Upon this mini-album ‘A Rose Is A Rose’s initial release in 1982, the NME apparently described No More as “a trio of young Germans who appear to have fallen out of Lou Reed’s ‘Berlin’ album, and it’s certainly an apt description of the sort of fusion of pointed, often sneered lyrics and angular stripped-back instrumental arrangements going on here. For this reissue Dark Entries have opted for the deluxe treatment, packaging the vinyl repressing of ‘A Rose Is A Rose’ alongside the ‘Suicide Commando’ 7 inch, the band’s debut ‘Too Late’ EP, and three previously unreleased 1982 demos.
Curiously, opening track ‘Drums Of Algir’ reminded me of Australian band Naked On The Vague more than anything else as frontman Andy Schwarz’s vocals grow in intensity against a doomy backdrop of clattering tribal drums and abrasive minor key synths, the sudden entrance of eerie flute melodies adding a strangely exotic edge to the otherwise austere atmosphere of paranoia that’s conjured up. ‘Caged Heat’ meanwhile sees howling analogue synths and jagged guitars constantly winding up the tension levels as reverb-treated mechanistic snares pound out a relentless non-groove against Schwarz’s delayed-out yells, setting the template that a hundred subsequent coldwave acts would later inhabit as their own. Elsewhere, ‘Dark Side Of The Town’ sees hints of funk coming to the fore, fusing a slap-bass riff to a mechanistic FX-treated drum groove reminiscent of Simple Minds’ ‘I Travel’ as Schwarz’s spoken vocals add a thinly-veiled sense of menace, before ‘It Feels Like 1925’ offers up this collection’s most unexpected offering with a side-step out into moody jazz-noir. A classy reissue from Dark Entries that’s well worth tracking down.
