No Noise

No Noise’s band name is deceiving, but not in a bad way. If you search their name on Spotify, the music streamer gives you two options to choose from: a therapeutic, ambient-esque spa soundtrack with a few uncomfortable love songs and then the one I’m reviewing here, with a photo of a girl in hot pink underwear holding an old issue of Seventeen magazine to cover her face. Choose the latter.

Hailing from Montclair, New Jersey, its members include Mika (vocals), Sam (who plays guitar/backups), Alec (on guitar), Max (who plays bass), and Joe (on the drums). They produce noise, alright, but it’s the kind of noise you want infiltrating your mind when you’re furious or even just ridiculously happy. I don’t know about you, but I love seeing young people create work that is equal or better than older people’s work, and I love when it blurs the lines between playfulness and “maturity.” In the duration of the 18-minute-long album, named after what I imagine to be the teenage experience, Strange Times takes you for a ride with young people who have experienced pretty universal things but also have important stuff to say.

The album starts with a stirring guitar/drum intro on its first song, Damaged. It’s the perfect song for the scene in any given movie where the protagonist has finally had enough of their current situation, and gives their hair a drastic cut while staring themselves down in the mirror, and then runs out of their house in a leather jacket and blue jeans. Is that too far-fetched? I feel like I’ve seen something similar to that before! My point is reinforced with lines like “I’m lost in a sea of boredom" and “So hard not to despise these strange times…"

Blisters is an energetic song worthy of forceful head bobbing, about a girl yearning and fighting for appreciation and attention who isn’t getting any of either. "Crying out for someone, life is such a bore.” The choruses repeat, “Too bad no one can hear her; she’s so vain.” *cue head bobbing*

In Play Dumb, direct, badass and powerful lyrics are spewed straight into the microphone unapologetically, which contradicts some of its more emotional, dark lyrics, and that contradiction makes it even more dramatic and all-consuming. If you’ve ever fantasized about bursting into a room and marching over to tell a certain person a thing or two without hesitation, listen to this and your fantasy will feel somewhat real.

People Downstairs sounds a little more full and atmospheric, like it should be playing in the background of a really good party as your ~crush~ watches you dance and twirl around. Like, imagine during the (really pretty?!?!) bridge of the song you walk closer to each other and then when it speeds up again, you just go insane and flail all of your ligaments in unison, and then you fall in love immediately after. I’ve been vicariously living out weird scenarios like this through music since forever, I guess?

Sadie Hawkins is probably my favorite song on the album. Based on the school dance in which girls ask and then pay for boys to attend, the song describes the emotions and body language of the people involved. It's empowering and fun and almost retro-sounding, like if Lesley Gore (RIP) did punk. It makes the listener feel like if they were Mika’s friend, they’d sense that she had their back through and through. Or at least, that’s how it made me feel.

Exurbs is a really sweet and sentimental finish to the album. It highlights the feeling of being stifled in your hometown or a town you’ve found yourself stuck in for the time being, and it does so kindly, like a rebellion that isn’t meant to stir up conflict, just to release the clashing emotions you have about it, especially if you’re planning to leave it soon.

All in all, Strange Times is a super strong first album for No Noise. Young people are beginning to take over the world and while I’m no fortune teller, No Noise deserves a lot more attention, and they’ll get it.

Check out No Noise on Spotify and follow them on Twitter! - Bitchfork Music , Katherine Rojas

Hello lovely pulp babes, your Extra Stuff Editor & Social Media Manager here with a surprise goodie for you! We are premiering the debut album of the super rad New Jersey band, No Noise! Comprised of Sam, Alec, Max, Joe, and Mika, No Noise are a band you totally have to check out! What better time than now that ‘Strange Times’ is out? With super cool vocals, catchy guitar hooks and choruses, there’s nothing strange about these tracks. No Noise is our new favorite band, and they will surely be yours as well!

I had a quick chat with them about their new album, the recording life, future plans and more!


1) How was the recording process like for the album? What’s your favorite part about recording?

It was a very easy going process, and we were lucky enough to record with long time friends and music teachers. The laid back-ness was balanced out by how official we felt/ it sounded. It gave us the opportunity to really examine the songs we had played so casually in the confines of a little basement. Now we had to really look and listen to the details, which was a really rewarding process, because we really got to perfect every song. Initially recording seemed so casual and simple, but the product was so much more refined. Not to mention, we were in no rush to release which really gave us the necessary time to really make it what we wanted.

2) How would you describe the album?
This album is sort of like a timeline of No Noise. From the beginning, this tiny fun teenage group, looking at Damaged, to this really political and musically diverse group of young people. I guess it shows this weird evolution we have gone through over the past few years. We love the fun roots we come from, but there really is a serious side to us. We have this totally diverse group of influences, from Kate Nash to Mac DeMarco to Local Natives, and even Etta James, it just shows this wide variety of music that has impacted our style and lives in so many ways.
3) What would you say your favorite song is from the new album?
We all have a different favorite. Sadie Hawkins reigns as Max and Sams favorite. At the same time we just wrote a song called Please (Thank You) that is totally stuck in all of our heads (especially Alecs). It is not on the album, but there is a mediocre recording of it on bandcamp. Exurbs is Mikas favorite, because recording harmonies is heavenly for any vocalist.
4) What/who provided inspo during recording?
As a band, we are really really goofy people. We do a lot of messing around, trying to find what sounds good and what feels right. From messing around during recording or during our epic homemade waffle lunches, we found inspiration in new things. New discoveries. To quote starry eyed guitarist Alec Tobin, “I was inspired by my pedals during recording because they are shiny and make nice noises.” So, trying new things and shiny stuff.
5) What are some band plans now that the albums out?
Now that the album is finally out, we want to get it out there. To be heard. Now that it is out of our inboxes we can get to writing more music, booking more shows, and talking to more rad blogs. Its so hard in this day and age, with so many bands, and so much competition to stand out even in the slightest. We are putting together a summer tour right now, which is stressful yet very very exciting. Lastly, Mika went to this Sleater Kinney interview with Broad City, and handed Carrie, Janet and Corine a copy of our album. We are very hopeful that maybe, just maybe they will take a listen. Doubtful, but totally hopeful!
6) Fav recording memory?
God, narrowing that down is torture. So here are our top two. I promise I will keep it short! 1. Waffles. We brought in a waffle maker and made super amazing waffles for everyone involved in recording in the cozy lobby. They were epic, and kept us sane. 2. Figuring out this amazing “sparkly” riff over the bridge of Exurbs, which was creatively liberating. Once we got over that obstacle, we felt so relieved and totally satisfied.

Thank SO much to No Noise for talking to us and letting us premiere the amazing ‘Strange Times’. Seriously, check it out! You will fall in love with it as much as I did (I absolutely love ‘Sadie Hawkins’ & ‘Play Dumb”). Be sure to keep an eye out for it to be available on iTunes and Spotify SUPER soon! But for now…
You can stream and purchase it here!
“Like” No Noise on Facebook
Bless your dashboard by following them on Tumblr
Follow them on Instagram
& Twitter! - The Pulp Zine

From Montclair, New Jersey (cool points are already earned), emerges No Noise, a kick ass 5 piece high school band, with similar sounds to the likes of Honeyblood and encapsulating the feel-good DIY surfer/garage vibe. With the snarling vocals of Mika Itkin-Weinstein driving the band’s punky swagger, the 6 tracks of recent EP; Strange Times, drift in and out of infections melodies and the melancholy, no more so prominent in the catchy ‘Blisters’.


“I like the way she falls apart on the bathroom floor…/She’s so vain”, from the go, ‘No Noise’ do quite the opposite of their title, crashing into ‘Blisters’ with revving guitars and mocking lyrics, maintaining a good flow and groove to the track. Blisters in its own stylish way, opens doors for the future direction of ‘No Noise’, nevertheless, the band make it clear in tracks such as ‘Damaged’ and ‘People Downstairs’ that they can produce deep grungy tones, packed with distorted riffs and teenage angst.

Influenced by the recent rising garage band scene hitting America and such bands as The Orwells, Twin Peaks and not forgetting some old-school Black Lips, ‘No Noise’ are undoubtedly on the road to success, with Strange Times hitting the right notes with fans of DIY indie rock from the states. Cool, catchy and feel-good, check out the ‘No Noise’ Soundcloud for EP, Strange Times, and watch this exciting band grow in the next few years.

You can like No Noise on facebook, follow them on twitter and listen to their soundcloud. - Alt Music Box

MONTCLAIR — A group of New Jersey high school students started off 2015 loudly, and with Aaron Carter.

Saturday night, five bands opened for the pop star in a performance at Mexicali Live in Teaneck. For Montclair-based band No Noise, made up of four high school seniors and a 20-year-old, the chance to perform on the same stage as the singer was a big one.

“The show was really fun,” No Noise’s lead singer Mikaela Itkin-Weinstein, a student at Montclair High School, said. “This is the first time that (we got) to play with a real national act.”

The band, which describes its sound as alternative and garage rock, said it was exciting to play alongside Carter, best known for his early 2000s pop hits “Aaron’s Party” and “That’s How I Beat Shaq.”

“What he does is so different from what we do, and I think it’s really interesting to have both of those things on the same stage,” Itkin-Weinstein said. “Plus, he’s a household name. Who doesn’t know ‘Aaron’s Party?’”

Carter, who is in the middle of a tour through the U.S. and Europe, said he was happy to make a stop at Mexicali Live, and to hear No Noise perform.

“Love touring in Jersey,” Carter said in a statement about the show. “I always like seeing someone going after their dreams. It’s great to see all the talent Jersey is breeding.”

The young musicians who make up No Noise, three of which attend Montclair High School and a fourth West Caldwell High School, all met at The School of Rock music school in Montclair.

“We started when we were freshmen, and it was just for fun,” Itkin-Weinstein said of the band. “Now, we are taking this more seriously.” The band is releasing its first album on Jan. 20.

Its members – Itkin-Weinstein, Alec Tobin, Sam Unger, Max Schoenwetter, and Joe Billy – said they liked getting the chance to play with Aaron Carter, too.

“It’s such a cool opportunity,” Itkin-Weinstein said. “And, I have to admit, Aaron Carter’s relationship with Hilary Duff was pretty important to me back in the day.”

Other Carter fans took to social media to post pictures and videos of the N.J. show. - Star Ledger

Every rock and roll fan was in a band at one point in their lives. Often times, these flung-together bands only exist to become a bragging point ten years in the future: “yeah, my band back in high school/college…”. Was the music good? Nah. Could you play well? Unlikely. But hey, you were in a band!
Of course, every so often the stars align and a group of high school kids gets together to blow the roof off of their parents’ garage. No Noise happens to be one of these lucky few. The New Jersey-based group just released their first studio EP (or maybe a mini-LP), Strange Times, on iTunes, Spotify, and Bandcamp. I’ve been anxiously awaiting this release since I heard the demo of their track “Sadie Hawkins”. The surf-rock tones and melodies are infectious, and Mika’s voice cuts the track with the perfect balance of power and razor-sharpness. I’m definitely going to keep my eyes on these guys, and I suggest you do the same. - Intonation RVA

“We have gotten our fair share of fan letters and messages from some teenagers out in Kansas,” says Max Schoenwetter, the bass player for Montclair-based rock band No Noise. And it’s not because the group has toured far and wide or had a hit single on Midwest radio. In fact, the band’s members are all in high school and have never played outside of the New York-metro area.
But that doesn’t matter, because No Noise is a band coming up in the social media era, and they can let the web do some of the touring and hit-making for them. Max just has a cousin who lives in Kansas who shared the music No Noise has posted on its Bandcamp and Facebook pages at his high school out there, and now these four NJ musicians are competing with rock bands from Queens of the Stone Age to Tame Impala and beyond for spots on Sunflower State playlists. “They asked us to do to a meet and greet there,” he says, “which was pretty crazy.”
It’s a little crazy, but it’s not dumb luck. No Noise has been playing together for about two years, and they’re been working hard and playing it smart. The band is Max on bass; Mikaela Itkin-Weinstein on lead vocals; Alec Tobin on guitar; and Sam Unger playing drums and some guitar, too (all of the musicians sing backup vocals, too). “We all met at School of Rock,” Max notes, which he thinks helped the band have a rapport right out of the gate. “Over the last couple of months that connection has solidified and ideas have come together much more quickly as a result.”
And the group is a real band, rather than a front-person with some backup players. “We all love to work together to get a song going,” they say. Everyone brings in ideas and influences that don’t always overlap but seem to work together. “It’s a process that can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few minutes. The songs are constantly evolving.”
Their songs are also reliably rocking. Itkin-Weinstein puts a brash and dynamic voice on top of tracks that have roots in garage rock and the tuneful side of punk–but the band knows that there’s a difference between simple and simplistic. “We love taking ideas from all aspects of music,” says Max, and songs like “Tell Your Friends” and “Play Dumb” have both big rock moves and small moments that keep the ear hanging on.
Live at the Bitter End 3.29.14 by No Noise
So far, the band has recorded some demos and a live album, and has played in NJ (at Montclair’s student cafe Serendipity) and NYC (at the Bitter End, where they recorded a live album, and Webster Hall Studio). And as they’re eyeing more recording and more touring, No Noise is refusing to think small. “Playing the Wellmont would be possibly the most epic thing ever,” they say, but don’t be surprised if they’re headlining in Kansas soon, too. - Baristanet