The None – CARE | EP Review

After a successful start in 2024, the four creative minds of noise rock collective The None return for a second round with four new abrasive and enticing tracks.

From the opening hits of ‘My People’, The None come in like the apocalypse. Syncopated muted guitar hits synchronised with the drums and bass, interrupted by vocalist Kai’s calls of “we’re going nowhere/and being speedy about it”. You can hear the echoes of the room, and the tightness of a band that hasn’t stopped since its inception.

The quartet went public around a year ago with a tour and no songs, and ended the year having played with reputable names like Canadian post-punkers Metz and released one of Noizze’s EPs of the year with their debut tracks on MATTER. Their second EP, CARE follows in the same trend – a live tracked band in a room with minimal overdubs and loud amps. Nothing else needed as this hits hard. The aforementioned intro to ‘My People’ or the breakdown of ‘Rusty Roads’ are testament to this, having already torn through crowds up and down the country.

The band absorb the angularity & rigidity of their influences and tour mates, but there are moments of beauty that cut through. The chromaticism breaks away and reforms into melody as the thunderclouds lift to let the sunbeams through. Similarly, there are more moments of restraint than the first EP. The dub breakdown of  ‘Assembly’ makes the band more than just pure worship of the idealised version of their noise rock genre stalwarts.

Along with the almost completely live recording of the EP, the release of CARE is more old school than most of the other releases coming out in 2025. There are no public plans for either EP to be released to mainstream streaming platforms. With it (and its predecessor) only being available on Bandcamp, only Cindy Lee’s Diamond Jubilee has had a similar release schedule in popular underground music consciousness. As much as it is self selective – and also goes against any sort of discoverability that streaming platforms pride themselves on – having guitar bands that want to stay firmly underground still get critical attention and a fan base large enough to tour off of is a good omen.

The None have 8 songs out and have become one of the most talked about new live bands of 2024. Despite their expansive individual experience, this is a new and exciting prospect that stands on its own. CARE pushes that little bit further than MATTER, and shows The None as an explosive, noisy, melodic behemoth to behold. There is an irony with the final track being titled ‘On Automatic’, as this is not a band that is resting on its laurels.