Copenhagen-based DIY punk outfit NEXØ is out with a debut album that tackles the harsh reality of being wide awake in 2019. New Normal is a fiercely energetic album with lyrics about drugs, apathy and destroying capitalism. The punk band NEXØ was founded in the wake of the election of Donald Trump. Their debut album New Normal is the result of two years of struggle in a world that has only become more insecure. We have teamed up with the band to give you a proper overview of the record, with a full track by track commentary and a shitload of details you need to understand their mission.
Punk music thrieves when the world is burning. The Copenhagen-based band NEXØ’s debut album New Normal, which was released August 30th, is a clear proof of that. While NEXØ has evolved from a brand new project to a well-oiled machine in the last two years, the world has only become more fragmented and divided. Their debut album sometimes plays like a soundtrack to the end of humanity – but also instills a spark of hope.
New Normal is recorded live in a small shack on a strict diet of whiskey and ritalin. The whole record is beaming with a playful and unadulterated energy – the type of vibe that can only occur when a group has something to say, bursting to come out.
Although NEXØ is a new group it is clear that the musicians know each other and their instruments very well. New Normal is a reminder that punk doesn’t have to be simple. The album can be described as a fusion of 80s hardcore and modern punk rock, but there’s more to it than that.
“You’ll find stoner, psych, garage and pop music if you want,” explains guitarist Jakob Møller-Jensen. “Our music is fueled by a fierce indignation about the state of the world, mixed with an indomitable desire to live life to the fullest – what genre comes out in the end doesn’t really matter. As long as the energy is there.”
Despite the band’s short life they’re moving up fast. With concerts at venues and festivals in Denmark, Sweden and Norway – as well as a deal with the renowned Dutch booking agency Paperclip – it is full speed ahead for Nexø.
When you turn on the news and see natural disasters, war, exploitation of millions and lying politicians it sometimes feels like we’re heading towards the end of humanity. Nexø’s music is shaped by that apathy we can all feel from time to time. But while it may look bleak, New Normal is also a reminder that the world can be different.
“The times are not a’changing,” says leadsinger Kristian Ejlebæk Nielsen. ”We must all be the ones to change the times. We hope our music can help instill some hope in this surreal reality we call 2019. ”
New Normal was released on vinyl and CD and is available on all streaming platforms. The band has a number of live shows at home and abroad and ends their album tour with a celebration of the record in Copenhagen on October 4th.
1) THE CHEMICAL GENERATION
In a world gone mad a whole young generation descend into apathy and would rather eat opiates than get involved with politics. As potentially the last generation on this doomed planet ideals seem like a thing of the past, and escapism becomes the modus operandi.
When I go out
I find my drugs on the groundI eat and snort and suck
Inject it all from dust to muck
Cause I don’t care anymore
We’re living in the twillight zone
A dribling clown is on the throne
I need to get away from it allNo consciousness expansion here
Reality is a void of fear
Can’t see the future in the dark
Flower power has withered away
Nihilism is here to stay
A monochrome world of apathyWe don’t know what to be
We lost our faith in democracy
Now we hide inside pesticides
A generation fucked on chemicals
Opiate addicted millenials
Who don’t believe in anythingSolvents are of no concern
I want to feel it crash and burn
I find my drugs on the ground
Their purity is not pristine
But nothing in this world is clean
We’re living in true toxic times
2) ECSTASY
Ecstasy is not only a tribute to the drug of the same name, but rather the realisation that if the world is about to end, we need to cope with that through a transformation of our perception. The pure and restless energy of the last third of the track is symbolic of the quest to change a stagnant world.
I just wanna find
Euphoria of a different kind
I just wanna find
The key to interlock our minds
I just wanna sin
Feel you crawl under my skin
I just wanna sin
MethylenedioxymethamphetamineI just wanna fly
Suck my serotonin dry
I just wanna fly
Mydriasis of the naked eye
I just wanna see
A chemical answer to apathy
I just wanna be
Trippin balls on ecstasyI wanna go
3) ADDICTION
The danger of descending deep into the world of drugs and alcohol is that you end up dreading and hating the unadulterated reality. This track deals with addiction and the constant need for inebriation.
When my vision is a blur
When my voice is a drunken slur
When my world is tumbling down
When they’re calling for the very last round
I still keep drinkingWhen I’m aware how it ends
When I keep fucking my friends
When I forget who I am
When I simply stop giving a damn
I still keep smokingI feel an urge for inebriation
Unattainable saturation
Ketamine, pills and coke in my system
The edge approaching in the distance
Nicotine, booze and speed in my system
The edge approaching in the distance
4) 1312
Fuck the police!
The cops are coming out
The cops are coming out tonight they’re out to get meNo justice
No peace
Fuck the policeACAB
The cops are coming out for you
5) FAMILY
While the capitalist system is breaking us apart, building walls and closing borders, we – the people – can still help and support each other. Family is about the movements we’re part of. The creative groups of people that gives us hope that the world can in fact be a better place.
All my friends are children of the clash
All my friends find treasures in the trash
All my friends are burning all their cash
All my friends are getting high off the ashAll my friends are immaculate and high
All my friends have said their goodbye
All my friends are aiming for the sky
All my friends are ready to die
6) ELE NÃO
When the Brazilian president Bolsonaro was inaugurated in January of 2019 we were furious and frankly very affraid. Now less than eight months later the Amazon is on fire with the president’s blessing, and his impact on the planet we all live on is far more serious than our worst projections. In solidarity with Pacha Mama and the Brazilian people.
Meu coracão tá pesadão
Ele não, ele nãoEu tou chorando pelo Brasil
o povo construindo sua propria cadeia
asfixiando o pulmão mundial
provocados por um medo sem razão
7) MOSTLY HARMLESS
The track is a tribute to Douglas Adam and the genius of ”The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” but figuratively speaking the message of the track is universal and simple: Always believe in yourself even when the task at hand seem impossible. Never give up!
I can’t fly
But I tryThe knack to flying is to throw your body at the ground and miss
But I fail and smash my face into the ground repeatedly
I spit out broken teeth, swallow blood and try again.(Never give up)
I can’t fly
But I try
I can’t fly
But I try
I’m so high
8) CATCH 22
Some of the most horrendous crimes against humanity happen every day in the Middle East. While Israel continues to expand their illegal settlements a peace plan – or even a somewhat normal life for the millions of Palestinians living in refugee camps or in the open prison we call Gaza – seem like a lost cause. No matter how you look at it, it seems there is no happy ending in Palestine.
Intifada!
The Palestinian’s expelled from his land yet forced not to leave
While the Israeli is tanning on the beach in Tel Aviv
A catch 22 (for all)
A catch 22 (not all)
It’s not an eye for an eye when rocks are met with bombsEach Jewish settlement is a Gordian knot
A presence of dogma and cause of yet more blood
A catch 22 (the wall)
A catch 22 (will fall)
The holocaust is no excuse for genocide
9) BREAK THE BANK
The destruction of our planet’s eco-system, the ongoing war in the Middle East and the oppresion of billions all derive from the same problem: The capitalist system and the constant pursuit of money. We need to brake that system and live in a world where solidary comes before profit, and hopefully we can do this if we act together. That’s why we say: The times are not a’changing, we are changing the times!
The men who want to watch the world burn
oversee our oppression from the top of the bridge
Suits at the helm with our leaders in tow
politicians sucking the dick of the richBut mutiny is brewing under mountains of cash
we see their corruption, we see all their crimes
we tear down the banks so the future will know
the times are not a’changing we are changing the timesI see what you’re doing
Standing in there behind your high windows
Looking down upon the people you destroy
Well, we’re coming for you
The ground is eroding
The mortar is crumbling
The paint is peeling
There’s a crack in the ceiling
The entire system is gonna colapse under it’s own weight
And from the rubble we’ll find you
