No Balance Premiere “Zerotonin” Video
Posted in Bootleg Theater on April 26th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Cheers to Dayton, Ohio-based three-or-four-piece-depending-on-which-picture-you’re-looking-at No Balance for capturing how I’ve felt at precisely every party I’ve ever been to in their new video for “Zerotonin.” Consider the play on the naturally-produced chemical “seratonin” and you’ll have a better idea of where they’re coming from, perhaps. The band — who also write their name as NO balance, perhaps to emphasize the point — self-released their second EP, The Despondent, amid the climate of threat that was March 2020, and would seem to be using the clip premiering below as a part of their springboard back to activity. As it’s my first encounter with the band, I’m glad they did.
The EP — streaming near the bottom of the post — is comprised of three songs, of which “Zerotonin” is the first. In its blend of grit and well-balanced-in-the-mix vocal melody, one is reminded of Facelift-era Alice in Chains, but the tone in the guitar and bass layers is more purely modern-heavy, full in its low end and paced for maximal nod. No Balance, then, offer some balance sound-wise perhaps in spite of themselves. “Zerotonin” is a heavy groover, spacious enough to be deceptive in its efficiency as it smoothly
moves into its first verse and into its earworm of a chorus. Interestingly, the video ends with the band, separate from the rest of the aforementioned party, jamming out in a room. I don’t know about you, but I like to think that speaks to a narrative of self-realization. They found, or made, their own party. That’s a happy ending, whatever chemicals one’s brain may or may not be manufacturing at the time.
A clever construction of words and songs alike continues through the sample-laced heavygaze roll of “Napathy,” which is the longest of the three cuts and crashes accordingly, and the closing “Night Mary,” which boasts a highlight dual-layer solo drawn out from No Balance‘s underlying doom influence. They call themselves a punk band, and I love that. They should play with punk bands and piss everyone in the room off. I hope they do, at least a couple times to live that experience. Or house shows. In any case, their style — cohesive and structured but dirty and searching for itself — is engaging across these three songs, especially as “Night Mary” picks up the momentum of “Napathy” and pushes onward to the EP’s end, showing more vocal range and a noisy depth to hold all that forward potential. Two years after the fact, The Despondent reaches out.
Where they go next I guess is up to them. Next month, hometown show. Link is under the player below, followed by some more background and the EP stream.
Enjoy:
No Balance, “Zerotonin” video premiere
Catch the band at Sideshow, Yellow Cab, Tavern, Dayton, Ohio, May 20: https://www.facebook.com/events/720398318880895/
No Balance is an alternative punk rock band from Dayton, OH. After forming in February 2019 No Balance started honing in on what became a trio of songs released in August of the same year titled “The Futile” EP. Fast forward to March 2020 on the brink of a global pandemic, they followed up with a self reflecting single “Zerotonin” off of “The Despondent” EP. Expect a lot more from No Balance in 2022. They show no signs of slowing down.
No Balance is Eric Bluebaum (Vocals/Guitar), Cody Lee Clark (Keys/Vocals), Colin Pauley (Drums), Landon Bellville (Bass)
