No Frontiers
Moving Forward

For those who don't know, No Frontiers is a Milan-based punk-rock band that has been active for sixteen years. A group, therefore, that has experienced firsthand the ups and downs of the entire alternative movement, the rise of pop-punk in Blink 182 style, ska, and Californian melodic hardcore of Fat Wreck. In short, they have seen a lot, we can admit it. However, they have always stayed true to their own path, which perhaps is not truly "punk-rock" in the strict sense of the word but still offers us some interesting insights through the new album "Moving Forward". Listening to it, you are catapulted directly into that time phase where everyone seemed to love the national alternative scene and where if you didn't know Forty Winks, you were out. Well, it seems that No Frontiers drew inspiration from the typical approach of the aforementioned group, through songs where harmony and a hard-hitting side fail to blend as one would expect. Let's face it, their way of interpreting the English language may not be what one would expect, but putting aside this aspect, the final result is overall pleasant. The opener "Delay" is perhaps the weakest track on the list, too nostalgic and with tones that seem never to rise. Fortunately, things seem to improve with the pair "Hiccups"/"Wake Up Call", the first very SunEatsHours style and the second a simple semi-acoustic ballad that manages to be pleasantly listened to. In "1059, W Addison St" the peak is reached in my opinion, with a typically melodic hardcore track that dispels any doubt about the band's true nature, definitely more comfortable when they have to play hard. However, you end up with a question mark in mind when listening to "Counting Down The Days" where the beginning is something very, very slow (almost grunge-oriented) and then arrives at an upbeat ending where the distortions dominate. More than acceptable levels are reached instead in the end, with a trio that, as mentioned before, shows how No Frontiers are more inclined towards melodic hardcore than experimenting of any sort, while the concluding "Semplice" is something that I honestly found totally out of place, with vocals clearly struggling in terms of pitch and a concept without rhyme or reason. In conclusion, I think "Moving Forward" could mainly serve the band to understand which path to take in the future without the desire to dare leading them astray.