People Of Nothing | CD/LP review

The influences are strong with this one. Manic Depression Records once more prove they stand for quality releases, this debut album by People Of Nothing is no exception.
The story of People Of Nothing seems to be a bit blurry, some sources state the band was founded in Dublin, others say it originates in Paris. The main force behind it, Florian Chombard is a multi-instrumentalist, a wildcard just like his band, w seems to be at home in many different genres and places.

Indeed, on the first listen, the record feels like a compilation with Portishead, Colder, Interpol, Editors, A Place To Bury Strangers and of course a teaspoon full of Joy Division for the right aroma. It takes a while to realize that this is the same band, on every single track. But even when People Of Nothing don’t try to hide their influnences, they don’t appear to be mere copycats, they have their own distintive style, even when this may not become apparent in the beginning.

The first seconds of Hold already seem to incorporate the spirit of Martin Hannett, a clear minimalistic beat without that doesn’t hint at all that this is in fact rock we are listening to. Apart from the two remixes at the end, this is the song where People Of Nothing seems most like a Triphop or Electronica group. Haircut The Dog is more conventional, and shows all the signs of what we have come to know as typical Post-Punk sound, a good song to play on any Alternative-Mainstream radio. My Stain is more reminiscent of early Interpol, while A Break To Cry not only reminds me of APTBS quite a bit, but is also an instant killer on the dancefloor. Hoax Nöse is another slower but powerful track and is followed by Unforgettable, which would my second choice for the club. Love Action and Hour Days combined as the last two (original) tracks feel very much like the last two tracks on Joy Division’s Control, The Eternal and Decades, and I don’t think that is pure coincidence. Monsieur Chombard seems to know exactly what he is doing and luckily, part of his plan was to produce a very high quality album with People Of Nothing.

The self-titled debut is out on Anywave (Vinyl/CD) and Manic Depression Records (CD).

Anywave Records
Manic Depression Records