Friday, September 05, 2025

Norcos Y Horchata - precious little album


It's hard to believe that it has been more than three years since Norcos Y Horchata released Forever Disheveled, its debut album. I recently proclaimed Forever Disheveled my 8th-favorite album of the half-decade. Needless to say, I had considerable expectations for NYH's long-awaited sophomore LP. 

Out today on Take The City Records, Eccentric Pop Records, and Rust On The Blade, precious little album does not disappoint. But nor is it quite the album that anyone would have expected it to be. Just when you thought you has this band pigeonholed, Amado and the gang have gone out and reinvented themselves (somewhat). This record is the perfect combination of surprising and satisfying. A few tracks ("BYOBV," "Previous Ones," "Live, Laugh, Toaster Bath") find NYH in its familiar lane of tough melodic punk rock with a Midwestern soul. And they are all certified bangers! But elsewhere, the band finds itself trying new things and incorporating different influences in a way that feels like more than just a natural progression. Right off the bat with "The Artist + The Art," you can hear more of an early UK post-punk and '77 art-punk influence in the songwriting and musicianship. It still sounds like Norcos Y Horchata, but it's not the same Norcos Y Horchata. The song chugs along with speed and power, but it has so many layers that even its layers have layers. Elsewhere, "Lake Ave Traffic" finds the band soaring to new heights of anthemic grandeur. "Hack Away" is pure hardcore punk and positively thrilling. "I Deal In Three Chord Currency" is rumbling rock 'n' roll stripped to its bare bones and then twisted into something you've genuinely never heard before. The sweet-natured duet "Tuckered Out" is unlike anything this band has done before: a song that's hauntingly beautiful yet still a snappy good time. "Carbondale" finds the album concluding back in anthem territory and giving major new wave energy. 

Different people might take away different things from precious little album. You might hear Naked Raygun, and maybe I'm hearing the bands that influenced Naked Raygun. There are plenty of nods to classic Midwestern American punk rock, but it never feels like Norcos Y Horchata is copying any particular band. If I tried to jot down all the influences I thought I heard, I'd end up with writer's cramp. Impressively, this album ambitiously expands NYH's signature sound without straying too far from all the qualities that made this band so great to begin with. The thing about these songs is that they were obviously written to be performed live. So even as the band pushes itself creatively, its primary mission is still to deliver songs that will make you wanna jump around like a maniac, sing along at the top of your lungs, and thank the music gods for blessing this doomed planet with the life-sustaining gift of rock 'n' roll. Amado's lyrics, which range from philosophical to hilarious to pissed-off to introspective to inspiring, are really amazing and a massively underrated part of his skill set. It's mind-blowing to think about how something that started as Amado's pandemic solo home-recording project has grown into this — undoubtedly one of the greatest American punk rock bands going right now. 

It's always a tall order to follow up a great debut punk rock LP, but precious little album surpasses its predecessor by leaps and bounds. From start to finish, these are just great fucking songs. And all the players involved do incredible work on this record. This is one of those albums that will remind you why you fell in love with punk rock in the first place. Vinyl is available now via Bandcamp, and I'd recommend you snag a copy ASAP. Also, Norcos Y Horchata fall tour dates have just been announced, so head on over to the band's social media pages for more info!

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