After a ten-year long hiatus, the Guadalajara-based band Three From Nowhere comes back with new music. In this occasion, it was my privilege to review their newest EP, Back To The Basics. This being my first impression of the band, I was happily surprised by how effortlessly solid their sound was. They describe their music as psych-rock, hard rock, and rock with an authentic live vibe, which I find pretty spot on.

Back To The Basics offers a deeply enjoyable jam session that at the same time involves a masterful display of skill in the instrumentals, and they only need four tracks to do it. The EP feels precise in that aspect – calculated and complete within the freedom of the tunes themselves. This sentiment is clearly stated from the first track — that also shares the EP’s title — by introducing the work with a fully instrumental song, dominated by electric guitars. The repetitiveness of the riffs invites the other instruments to build on the constant beats and create a unique sense of tension reminiscent of the sounds of La Revolución de Emiliano Zapata or NEU!

The second track, “A Change Is Gonna Come”, offers an interesting contrast by constantly switching back and forth between tempos.  The track plays with our sense of predictability through the speeds and beats – sometimes it’s moody and groovy, sometimes hard and fast-paced. The song creates this a feeling of restraint and inner conflict that works fantastically when creating this psych-hard rock sound the band tries to convey.

The third track, “Feeling Love”, possesses a guitar distortion that leans into a trashier, unpolished aesthetic. The track may be perceived as the odd one due to the opening, at least until the vocals come in. Being the first track with lyrics in the album, these take you by surprise. They feel groovy —almost scat-like— and don’t pretend to stand out by any means. On the contrary, the vocals are treated like one more instrument, serving the song and landing it into the 70’s rock sound that the other tracks carry.

The final track of the EP —and my favorite— is called “Jackie”. Here, the vocals take the lead. The way both instruments and lyrics are in tune makes this track the absolute highlight of the EP. It is a vibey track curated to sound straight out of the Summer of Love. What I appreciate about this song in particular is how clearly you can listen to the influences of the band and at the same time how they build on top of them, expanding and working their own sound.

Back To The Basics is a fun EP carefully crafted by extremely talented musicians, who effectively transmit their expertise through compositions and vocals. It is worth noting that the EP was recorded live —like all the band’s releases— adding a degree of raw energy and unpolished nature that serves their sound. Three From Nowhere sits in a unique spot between technically complex and laid-back jamming, making their music feel enjoyable and approachable. Above everything, they feel tangible and genuine. This is a special release that is worth listening to, and is a great introduction to a band that will do interesting stuff in the future.

If you’d like to stream the EP or check out more work by Three From Nowhere, Back To The Basics is now available on YouTube Music, Apple Music and Spotify.