Let’s Wrestle / Nursing Home

Let’s Wrestle
Nursing Home
(Full Time Hobby)
* * * *

Our immediate impression of Nursing Home is that it’s heavier and more ambitious than Let’s Wrestle’s debut - though having Steve Albini onboard as producer would probably bring that out of any band. Crucially though, they haven’t lost sight of their ability to churn out a killer chorus hook that’ll have you contorting frantically in the pit.

The trademark fuzzy guitar lines and refusal to over-produce their material give you confidence that the roaring guitars on tracks like ‘If I Keep On Loving You’ will be as good live as they are on record, and ‘There’s A Rockstar In My Room’ will quickly establish itself as the anthem of all aspiring garage bands.

Still, the whole point of second albums is that they’re supposed to demonstrate how the band – be it the individual members or the collective – has grown. To this end, we’d have to say that Let’s Wrestle have passed the test with flying colours.

The track listing may read like something from a NOFX album sleeve (‘Bad Mammaries’, for example) and there’s reference to punching a Pokemon in the face, but they demonstrate a more mature side via the broken hearted lament of ‘I Am Useful’ and the rather touching ‘For My Mother’.

As with all good albums, it’s the sense of balance that that’s crucial. On that front, this is just about as perfect as any band could hope for.

Rory Carroll