From the first kick of college radio rock nostalgia, Near Earth Objects had us hooked on Careless Undertones; if those guitar tones were Levi jeans, they’d be marked up to three hundred quid on eBay in the blink of an eye. Like a sonic vestigial limb of a bygone era, Near Earth Objects are one of the only bands to carry the true timbre of vintage rock, but as for the lyricism, that kind of cerebral sharpness could only come from modern consciousness, with the exception of the Manics’ Richey Edwards, of course.
There’s also a hint of New Model Army in the sheer impact of the vocal delivery, which never threatens to descend into saccharine theatrics; the dark philosophical air that surrounds the powerhouse pulls it back from the edge of cliché, allowing them to deliver a sapiosexual rock fan’s dream of a well-tempered anthem.
With the release of their second album, ‘Idle Words and Schemes’, NEO, the collaborative force of Grant Huck, Toni Tkocz, Darren Snow and Rebecca Williams, have doubled down on writing, recording, and refining their progressive, alternative, and blues rock obsessions, after years of cult acclaim in Cumbria and far beyond. The ever-evolving roster of collaborators gives their sound depth without losing their core identity, and after seventy thousand global downloads of their debut, it’s no surprise they’ve returned with another instant classic.
Careless Undertones is now available on all major streaming platforms, including ReverbNation.
Review by Amelia Vandergast