Nomeansno: live show, new website, new CD

Nomeansno, under the moniker Small Parts, previewed their new CD at the Anza Club last night, and it sounds really promising. Songs are as follows, in alphabetical order, taken off their website (which I only heard about last night...!):

Faith
The Hawk Killed the Punk
Heaven
I’m Dreaming and I Can’t Wake Up
In Her Eyes
Mansion in the Sky
Mondo Nihilissimo 2000
Mr. In-Between
Slugs are Burning
So Low
Till I Die
Wake Up

There was something in some of the rhymes and riffs that seemed more direct than I was expecting, more playful, more "pop;" tho' the songs overall were complex, they all had sections that were surprisingly "hooky" and reminded me of some of their more tuneful moments off The Worldhood of the World as Such (which is good, because that's my favourite album of theirs). Maybe the band has been listening to a lot of country music lately...? It sounds like it's going to be a playful and varied disc, anyhow -- the release date of which unfortunately appears to have been pushed back to September, if you can trust anythin' off their disinformation-laden site.

Last night it was a short set, being an unofficial sort of show, with the band only playing for an hour and twenty minutes. They ended with a few favourites as encores -- "A Little Too High," as a joking shot at the cause of the night, paying off Removal's fine from drug charges in Germany; "Small Parts Isolated and Destroyed," which Tom gave a singularly energetic rendition of; and "Two Lips, Two Lungs and One Tongue." Rob also did a song with Removal, in Mr. Wrong gear... Next gig is June 29th, at the Commodore, with the excellent Italian jazz band Zu (they're really noisy and bass-heavy so it won't be as odd as it sounds. I don't know Wibutee, the other band on the bill, but they're from Norway, so they can't be that bad...). By the way, don't be confused by the fact that they're listing Craig Bougie as their drummer...