‘Nothing to Prove’ is the long awaited fifth studio album from the American hardcore punk band that is H2O. There was a seven year gap between the release of fourth album ‘Go’ and this 2008 Bridge Nine released record that is ‘Nothing to Prove’; the name of the album makes the bands opinion very clear that they have nothing to prove to anyone here, the band has been together since 1995 now and has over the years more than proved its worth as an excellent hardcore punk band. The album consists of 10 tracks and this therefore provides for 29 minutes of music. A number of excellent guest vocalists feature here such as Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba, Gorilla Biscuits main man Anthony Civarelli, and Agnostic Front’s vocalist Roger Miret also amongst others; it’s great to hear the guest contributions here and always the bands music has much to offer throughout this ‘Nothing to Prove’ album.
When H2O released ‘Go’ in 2001 a far poppier edge to the music was showcased, the band was signed to major label MCA Records and it really did show through the more commercial nature of the music that the band released. With ‘Nothing to Prove’ the band has once more returned to what it does best; creating hard hitting hardcore punk music and the sound created here is therefore really rather excellent to listen to. Every track is short, hard, fast, and snappy; the bands sound is very well put across instrumentally and vocally also the H2O sound always has much to offer here. The album is technically 29 minutes long, take away the five minutes of spoken word at the end of the album however and ‘Nothing to Prove’ is a mere 24 minutes long. Despite its short length the band still manages to cram a lot into the album here, from first track ‘1995’ right through to closing anthem ‘What Happened?’ the bands sound always is strong and the music is incredibly powerfully presented.
Right from the very first track here it’s made clear that ‘Nothing to Prove’ is an album with which H20 is attempting to return to its roots. The first track present here is titled ‘1995’; the year that the band formed, and the year before the bands début self-titled album ‘H2O’ emerged. This is a celebratory album from a band still going strong well over a decade after having first formed. The band lyrically declares with this album that it has ‘Nothing to lose’, makes a statement with the track ‘Still Here’ that H2O is still going strong and don’t we all just know it. H2O is a band with much to celebrate, ‘Nothing to Prove’ is a great album and one which is hugely positive in its tone and approach. This is a fifth studio album from a band having a hell of a lot of fun making the music that it is, the bands sound is still as fresh as ever and H2O is a band that do I feel still have a lot more to bring to the wonderful genre of music that is hardcore punk.
There’s a melodic edge to the bands sound at times here, always the guitar riffs are hugely hard hitting however and vocally also this ‘Nothing to Prove’ album possesses much bite. The drumbeats are ever excellent and really do provide an incredible back beat for the music. Vocally I feel is where the bands sound shines most strongly here, this is helped hugely by the guest contributions and most markedly on final track ‘What Happened?’. Sick of It All’s vocalist Lou Koller features here as too does Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba; it’s an incredible piece of music and truly does provide this album with the most perfect of closing tracks. ‘What Happened’ is by far my favourite track from this album, the bands sound is passionately put across and always here the vocals are filled with fury and bite. Matt Skiba’s vocal sound is worked strongly within the track, it contrasts powerfully with the hardcore edge of Lou Koller’s vocals, and in every department here the track truly is incredibly entertaining to listen to.
‘Nothing to Prove’ is an extremely uplifting album to listen to, every guitar riff is incredibly well worked here and vocally the sound always is strong. ‘Unconditional’ is one of the more melodically approached titles from this album, no hardcore can here be found but the music is definitely hugely upbeat in its nature. ‘Unconditional’ is a great sing along punk rock album and one which I’m sure will go down incredibly well at all of the bands future live shows. The track is packed full of energy, the melody is excellent, and never here is there ever a dull moment. This is positive punk rock music at its very finest and another of my absolute favourite tracks from this album.
‘Nothing to Prove’ is a fantastic fifth studio album from H2O and one which always is hugely exciting to listen to. Originally intended as a one-song side project, H2O has turned out to be a lot more than that and over the years has put to record some exquisitely fine punk rock material. The guest collaborations really do come across well here and always there is a great friendly feel about this album in its progression; the hardcore community is one big punk rock family and always one which is happy to help others in the recording of albums. There’s a great feeling of a true punk rock community here, the tracks are fast and fun and always here this ‘Nothing to Prove’ album has much to offer the listener. The lyrics are excellent and the guitar hooks also are supremely well worked throughout the album, the 5 minutes of speech at the end of the album could however be cut off though I feel as this really does add no further quality to the album. The 5 minutes of speech at the end of the album are entirely unnecessary; friends, family, and band members also speak here and you can understand the inclusion of this outro given the great family atmosphere of the record; it detracts a little from the overall quality of the album though I feel and ‘Nothing to Prove’ would definitely benefit were this outro section to be significantly cut back in length/taken off of the album entirely.
For those that love their hardcore punk music then ‘Nothing to Prove’ is an album which is well worth investing in. It took seven years for this album to emerge and I have to say that it was well worth the wait; it’s an exceptional punk rock album from the band and one which has got the bands career right back on track. ‘Nothing to Prove’ has a back to basics feel, the band is here returning a little to its roots and collaborating with its friends; it’s a fine album from H2O and one which is always incredibly positive and uplifting in its approach. There are only 24 minutes of music here, the 24 minutes of music that you receive with this album are however absolutely excellent at all times. Give this album a listen and prepare to be struck by the bands incredible positivity; H2O is a band that is very much still here and still extremely capable of creating a fine punk rock album after over 13 years in the business.
Label: Bridge Nine Records
Release Date: May 27th 2008
Rating:
UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.
