“Paranoid,” the brand-new offering from New York City-based indie outfit Noshows, fuses suggestions of stripped-down alt-rock with hints of Latin savors and nuances of psychedelia into a low-slung, enticing earworm.
Noshows revolves around singer-songwriter and visionary Max Satow, who is the driving force behind the band.
With more than 180,000 collective streams on Spotify, Noshows has performed at Bowery Electric, Arlene’s Grocery, Purgatory, and Baby’s All Right, along with magnetizing an ever-growing base of fans.
Satow’s stellar songwriting pulls from personal experiences compelled by the principle that “understanding ourselves is the first step toward understanding others.” Noshows’ sound blends elements of hip-hop, pop, funk, jazz, and alt-rock highlighted by lyrics exploring the inner chaos and complexity of psychological aspects of the human mind.
A delicious Latin-flavored trumpet-laden intro flows into a rolling, funk-lite rhythm, infusing the tune with a bouncing, off-beat cadence, pushed by a fat, rounded bassline. Skiffing, kaleidoscopic guitars imbue the harmonics with tight, biting, lysergic tones.
Satow’s vocals, ranging from warm melodicism to a luscious falsetto, imbue the lyrics with edgy timbres, delivering a sensation of suspicion. A soft, vocal-filled breakdown precedes a dazzling, luminescent guitar solo, dripping with piercing, lustrous colors.
“Are you lovesick or sick of love / You don’t want love just because / It’s got you paranoid.”
The juxtaposition of dissonant guitars against the elongated bray of the trumpet gives the song an oil-and-water feel, creating a building sense of unease. The result is a complexly layered tune that comes across as refreshingly raw and uncluttered.
Noshows has it going on! Dizzying and potent, fashioned around a visceral beat, “Paranoid” reveals captivating aromas of emotional urgency.
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