For novelty’s sake, let’s address all of the obvious potential talking points to be found about Noi!se’s UV Digitally printed 12” “Lost” single. Yes, it looks really, really cool. Yes, I think that stranding a three-and-a-half-minute song all alone on a 12” vinyl record is a questionable use of resources, regardless of how cool it looks. Yes, the quality of the graphics on both sides of this release make a strong case for digitally printing a vinyl single.
This release is neat, this release is cool. Now let’s move on and talk about that one song which was stranded all by itself on this 12” single, shall we?
From the moment stylus catches groove on “Lost,” listeners will have no difficulty picking up the subtle traces of Bad Religion, Pennywise and NOFX in the caustic guitar tone, monstrous low end and the obvious melodic hardcore clip about the song, but those three and a half minutes are more than just the sum of their inspirations. Here, singer Matt Hanson actually comes off sounding more raw and rougher than normal as he spits lines about being far from everything he knows and coming dangerously close to sounding like he means it (read: it doesn’t feel like he’s just playing a role here). The grind is infectious and will hook listeners blindingly well before the song cuts them loose, but the trail-off that hums as the song closes is the thing which will have listeners cursing and swearing that this one song can’t be all there is to this single. They’ll want more, they’ll NEED more – but they’ll have no choice other than to wait anxiously For more. That’s a brilliant and well-disciplined tease – this single may have all the properties of a novelty from an aesthetic standpoint, but the song on it is something truly special.
