SXSW Profile: The Nein

I'll wrap up my series of NC bands playing at SXSW withDurham's The Nein. Their roots are in art punk, but they add a layer of synth and occasional sampling that mixes that up nicely. The Fall and Sonic Youth are frequent comparisons, as is Wire. This latter parallel is furthered by the cover of "Up to the Sun" featured below.

I like this kind of stuff when I hear it, but it's not really my...milieu, so I'll let someone else do the describing:

The Nein may very well be the coolest rock band in these parts, taking Gang of Four howl and The Cure catch and distilling it all into an angular head that comes complete with the danger that lesser rock mortals Franz Ferdinand promise but rarely deliver.

(The Independent 03/11/04)

They signed last year with Canadian label Sonic Unyon, who released a cleaned up version of the self-titled EP [review 1, 2, 3], and have a new full-length, Wrath of Circuits, coming out this fall. They're playing at Swarthmore tonight (with Ratatat) and then making their way to Texas for their SXSW show.

ZIP/MP3: "War is on the Stereo" (for some perverse reason, the label made this a .zip file)
(from The Nein, Sonic Unyon 2004. Buy it here.)

MP3: "Up to the Sun" (Wire cover)
(unreleased)