The Nox Boys, Pittsburgh’s garage-punk heirs-apparent, have generated a lot of buzz and critical acclaim since the release of their self-titled debut album on Get Hip Recordings:
“These kids (and their veteran partner) are the R.F.D. (Real Effin’ Deal), whether you’re talking straight up Nuggets raveups, turbocharged Stones/Kinks R&B swagger or Black Lips-styled supah-skronk.” (4/5 Stars)
Fred Mills | Blurt
“While rich with roaring echoes of the Pretty Things, Sonics, pre-1968 Rolling Stones, Alice Cooper, and pre-’66 Kinks (even a hint of Hawkwind), Nox Boys emanate their essences rather than going overboard trying to ‘sound like’ them.” (3.5/5 Stars)
Mark Keresman | ICON
“Eleven cuts of no frills garage punk…has a nice teenage snarl to it.”
Bart Mendoza | San Diego Troubadour
Internationally renowned psych-rock journal Shindig! Magazine reviewed the Boys’ album in their latest issue.
“A joyous summation of all that is great about rock ’n’ roll.”
John Ebbs | Shindig! Magazine
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“Garage-rock can be a divisive term. Skeptics baulk at the incestuous nature of its borrowed licks, its peculiarly puerile lyrical themes and its tendency to disguise sloppy musicianship with swathes of fuzz and tape hiss. However, when done correctly, as demonstrated on Nox Boys’ self-titled debut, it’s a joyous summation of all that is great about rock ‘n’ roll.
Under the tutelage of the Cynics’ Gregg Kostelich, who contributes a suitably apocalyptic sounding fuzz guitar on ‘Military School’, this Pennsylvania four-piece rip through 11 slices of twisted juvenilia, peppering their tales of bravado and dejection with generous lashings of slide guitar.
‘Susie Lee’ recalls the ramshackle pop of The Strange Boys, while ‘Take My Heart and Break It’ neatly inverts the White Stripes. Elsewhere, the aforementioned ‘Military School’ cribs Jacques Dutronc’s ‘Hippie Hippie Hourrah’, replacing the Gallic malaise with a sprightly Nuggets-style vocal. I believe these children are our future.”
By John Ebbs
Shindig! Magazine No. 38