The musical journey began when I clicked play. Not a journey of the transcendental, mind bending variety, but a physical journey spanning different destinations and eras.  Well, I suppose it was a mental journey - I didn't exactly travel anywhere, but I sure felt like I did. I generally eschew comparing one band to another, as it provides a fairly easy pigeonhole, but this journey was more about nostalgia than comparing two bands. 

First we begin with classic post rock style. The drums start, the clean guitars begin strumming, the arpeggios begin. Then it breaks away into a chorus of complexity and emotion that builds to an appropriate apex and release. The build resumes with a sweeping melody, repeat, and end. The journey hasn't begun quite yet.

The journey begins with the genesis of the third track. It is brief, as if I just woke up in the back seat of my friend's car as we pass a familiar town with my favorite burrito joint. I hear a slight wah/disco guitar flare that begins my journey into lost familiarity. It flies by quickly and I am a little dazed, but I sit and wait in the car as more interesting scenery passes by, still thinking of that fleeting glimpse of the town. Then we hit the border.

We're in Peppersville. That's right, Red Hot Chili Peppers. Strumming guitar chords drive the momentum forward as the Flea-esque slap funk bass adds pronounced hits that take me to a stadium show full of mohawks, leather, skinny bare chested males, and the good old RHCP blend of rock, punk, and funk. After this brief, but enjoyable sidetrack, the scenery returns to a pleasant, but similar canvas.

Just as I was starting to get hungry we hit Phishtown. This is where that wah/disco guitar went, but it came back in the form of Jam Band tweaked guitar. The guitar is being played as if the setting is an outdoor festival where tie-dye, dreadlocks, and mind-altering substances abound. It is short lived as the solo builds into a frenzy of all instruments speeding through a mass of sounds and riffs that take us out of town and into the expanse of highway that leads us to our next destination. The road is pleasant and interesting and I sit back and wait for the next town.

We pass through a few smaller towns like Jazztown, Funksville, and Mogwai City, but they are small towns that add accents to the main trip rather than create their own attraction. Up ahead we see Explosionship and can feel the growing sound from a mile out. The quiet intro to town erupts as we hit the main business district. New creativity and layers add to the already robust landscape. It ends just as rapidly as it started and we begin our final push to our destination.

We bypass the main highway and drive along a scenic byway to avoid the same old road. The highway is full of slow building vistas, grand views of the sunset over the ocean, and animals crooning voices we haven't heard before. The excitement builds in the car as we see the end nearing. It is bittersweet because of the good times we had getting there, but it is a relief to reach the grand finale of our trip. The trip ends melodically, but too soon. However, this just makes me look forward to the next trip.

The Non have a knack for adding variety to their brand of post rock. Little drips of different genres continually add a new spice to the mix. One issue I had with Paper City was that I found the mixture of styles a little distracting at first. I began to accept them more on subsequent listens and the ebb and flow of varying textures became an aural treat rather than a nuisance. Regardless of my eventually accepting the jump of styles, the album could have been cleaned up a little more to make a tighter, more cohesive album upon first listen. Two short interludes were included that I assume were added to help the cohesiveness issue, but frankly, I would have liked to have seen these interludes developed into something more. The potential for another interesting texture was there, but lost. Paper City is an excellent album to augment your standard rack of post rock selections. The moods span the melancholic, to the melodic, to the frantic. It is a very satisfying listen.

-Greg Norte