''Guilty of Everything'' is the debut studio album by the American shoegaze band

Nothing Nothing, the complete absence of anything, has been a matter of philosophical debate since at least the 5th century BC. Early Greek philosophers argued that it was impossible for ''nothing'' to exist. The atomists allowed ''nothing'' but only i ...

, released on March 4, 2014 by Relapse Records.

Musical style

The band's musical style has been described as a mixture of 1990s shoegaze,

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, artists indulge in extre ...

and

slowcore Slowcore is a subgenre of alternative rock and indie rock. The music of slowcore artists is generally characterized by bleak lyrics, downbeat melodies, slower tempos and minimalist arrangements. Slowcore is often used interchangeably with the ...

, and also as "heavy

dream pop Dream pop (also typeset as dreampop) is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such as ...

" and "billowy

alt-rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

." Nevertheless, the band's sound differs from other shoegaze acts' in its loudness and heaviness, leading to comparisons to My Bloody Valentine's '' Loveless'' (1991),

Smashing Pumpkins Smash may refer to: People * Smash (wrestler) (born 1959), professional wrestler * Moondog Rex, another professional wrestler who briefly wrestled as the original Smash, before being replaced by the above. * DJ Smash, DJ and music producer Ar ...

and

Dinosaur Jr. Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984, originally simply called Dinosaur until legal issues forced a change in name. The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter), Lou Barlo ...

Nothing has also been said to stay "current by also giving nods to the post- Brand New

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

sound." According to Stephen Carlick of '' Exclaim!'', Nothing's use of "towering distorted guitars, soaring falsettos and slamming, snare-heavy percussion" evoke "

Slowdive Slowdive is a British rock band that formed in Reading, Berkshire, in 1989. The band consists of Rachel Goswell on vocals and guitar, Neil Halstead on vocals and guitar, Christian Savill on guitar, Nick Chaplin on bass and Simon Scott on d ...

's biggest moments, albeit with a little more passion." The vocals of lead singer Domenic Palermo, which are "hushed and buried in the mix," have been compared to Chapterhouse in terms of harmony.

Release and promotion

Prior to the album's release, the first single, "Dig", debuted on August 8, 2013, via '' Stereogum''. A music video for the track "Bent Nail", directed by

Don Argott Don Argott (born September 14, 1972) is an American documentary filmmaker and musician. He has directed several documentary films and has also worked as a producer and cinematographer. He co-owns the production company 9.14 Pictures with pro ...

, was released on March 31, 2014, featuring a cameo appearance by singer-songwriter

Kurt Vile Kurt Samuel Vile (born January 3, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He is known for his solo work and as the former lead guitarist of rock band the War on Drugs. Both in the studio and during li ...

. On May 26, 2015, a special

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

vinyl edition was released, available only on Relapse Records' web store. This version featured alternate artwork, with the standard white flag altered to a Rainbow Pride flag and "electric blue with rainbow splatter" vinyl. With each purchase, 50 cents each was donated to the LGBT charities New Alternatives (an organization dedicated to helping homeless LGBT youth in New York City) and the

It Gets Better Project It Gets Better is an Internet-based 501(c)3 nonprofit with a mission to uplift, empower, and connect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) youth around the globe. It was founded in the United States by gay activist, author, m ...

Reception

Critical reception

The aggregate review site

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

assigned an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7 ...

score of 77 out of 100 to the album based on 11 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". '' AbsolutePunk'' staff critic Blake Solomon stated that "''Guilty of Everything'' is the sort of first album that takes itself too seriously in the most endearing way—it's something that must be purged before a band can move on." Tim Sendra of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

wrote: "Forget about shoegaze or metal or noise rock or any other genre; this is stark, dramatic music that comes from pain and has been crafted into high art that will move and inspire listeners lucky enough to hear it." At ''

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...

'', Brian Shultz rated the album 4 stars out of 5, saying that "occasionally, this style of music gives way to too much meandering or noise for the sake of it, but Nothing's melodic and encompassing LP debut is guilty of neither." ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' critic Michael Andor Brodeur described the album as "a storm of shoegaze, noise-rock, and slow-core, surging together into something lovely and lethal." Stephen Carlick of '' Exclaim!'' commented that "''Guilty of Everything'' is thus an emotional affair, but it's balanced by moments of grandness."

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critic Ian Cohen described the album as "loud, distorted and heavy, but not aggressive." Gary Suarez of

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

wrote that "''Guilty of Everything'' offers shockingly little beyond what was already on offer by the mid-'90s", but added, "Yet as it so happens, the record fares remarkably better than most of those moldy oldies they’ve already been compared with, albeit for banal reasons." ''

Rock Sound ''Rock Sound'' is a British magazine that covers rock music. The magazine aims at being more " underground" and less commercial, while also giving coverage to better-known acts. It generally focuses on pop punk, post-hardcore, metalcore, punk, ...

'' critic Andy Richie stated: "Individually, tracks like 'Hymn to the Pillory' and 'Somersault' aren’t particularly staggering, but as a whole body of work it really is something else." Naomi Zeichner of BuzzFeed described the track "Endlessly" as " Built to Spill bruised up and melted into a puddle."

Accolades and lists

Track listing

Personnel

''Guilty of Everything'' album personnel adapted from CD liner notes. ;Nothing * Domenic Palermo – vocals, guitar, production * Brandon Setta – vocals, guitar, production * Chris Betts – bass * Kyle Kimball – drums, percussion ;Additional personnel * Jeff Zeigler – producer, mixing,

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

at Uniform Recordings * Heba Kadry – mastering * Orion Landau –

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design' ...

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2014 debut albums Relapse Records albums Nothing (band) albums