Nosedive – Self-Titled Album
Nosedive is a “five piece melodic grunge/pop punk band hailing from Sacramento, California.” When you read about the formation of a band, you typically read about a group of people who have been friends for years and decided to form a band to take on the world. The guys of Nosedive do not have a story like that at all. They are five guys who met through Craigslist, bonded through their mutual passion and began writing music together. What is so cool about that is that these guys didn’t need the support of their lifelong friends to follow their dreams. Each band member loves what they do enough to reach out and find like-minded people who feel the same exact way. From there, Nosedive began playing live shows and recorded their first self-titled album.
“We wrote these songs in a broken down storage room with only a lightbulb to see each other in the summer of 2016. We wrote these songs to connect with people and made sure to make them come to life in a huge way.” Despite being only a three song album, Nosedive put their all into this piece of work. The album starts with Covers, a song that has a huge Taking Back Sunday/30 Seconds to Mars feel. The vocals of Erik Helms paired with the buildup by Jaeden Gales (drums) immediately draws you into the world of the band. What I loved the most was the way they can change the tempo of the song and make it flow perfectly. The guitar in the “breakdown” completely changes the song to a more upbeat, positive sound and then goes right back into the harder, edgier sound with ease.
Covers is followed by Unheard, a slower song with softer verses. Nosedive uses soft verses and an edgier, somewhat screaming chorus to help portray the emotion in their lyrics. Unheard is a song about being comfortable with yourself; seeing yourself for who you are and being accepting of that. The songs begins with powerful lyrics that many people can relate to. “A sense of restrain to be comfortable in my own skin speaking words that only stretch so thin.” This line is so powerful because it tells the story of a person that is always hesitant. In order to be comfortable, this person must have a sense of restraint instead of showing their true colors. The chorus shouts, “Call me and I’ll be there, speak to me so I don’t go silently. Does everything stay the same? Can you hear me honestly?” The question that goes through anyone’s mind when they lack confidence in themselves. Is my voice being heard? Is anyone listening at all?
Heartworm (my personal favorite ) is the final song on this three song album. Unheard introduced the listener to the softer, more emotional side of the band. Heartworm takes that side of the band and amplifies it by 1000. The first verse is the vocals of Erik Helms accompanied by the guitars. It isn’t until the chorus that the drums are introduced. The emotional lyrics of the song are emphasized by the powerful introduction of the full band. The song ends with the screaming of , “This will never be the same!”
Nosesdive is a five piece band with the style of bands like Brand New, Taking Back Sunday, The Story So Far, and Neck Deep. If you are a fan of alternative/pop-punk music, they are a band worth checking out! You can listen to Nosedive on Spotify, as well as their bandcamp page!