Hudson Valley’s Spoils System are back with a bang (and a shimmer) on their sophomore album \u2018The Nope Out,\u2019 via Sweet Cheetah Records. If their 2022 debut \u2018Smoke Signals\u2019 set the scene, this new LP digs deeper\u2014louder, fuzzier, and emotionally sharper. Imagine Swervedriver at a Death Cab dinner party, with Blinker the Star somewhere in the background making it weird (in the best way).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018The Nope Out\u2019 may carry Spoils System\u2019s name, but the project actually started as something else entirely\u2014a side gig that ended up growing into a full-on evolution. Vocalist\/guitarist Dan Coutant explained how the record came from a more relaxed, open mindset:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cIt wasn\u2019t really supposed to be a Spoils System record. We just followed what felt good: guitar-forward power-pop with a little dissonance. The songs came from a more \u2018free and easy\u2019 place.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
That looseness led to something surprisingly tight. The record flows more cohesively than their first, but still swings through different moods and genres\u2014think Big Star jangle one minute, Portishead haze the next, with detours through Steely Dan and Failure. Despite the shifts, there\u2019s a throughline that ties it all together: raw honesty, great hooks, and no interest in chasing trends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cThe title \u2018The Nope Out\u2019 came from the side project\u2019s name,\u201d<\/em> says Coutant. \u201cBut it\u2019s also our quiet protest against what the music world has become. Social media algorithms, superficial metrics, the pressure to package yourself\u2014it\u2019s a tough landscape if you\u2019re not young or shiny or easily categorized. So, we nope out. We make music for ourselves, and hopefully, it finds its way to people who feel the same.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
And here\u2019s a pretty rad footnote: two of the album\u2019s tracks\u2014Force For Good<\/em> and Hall of Forgotten Names<\/em>\u2014feature Failure\u2019s own Kellii Scott on drums. Yeah, no big deal\u2026 just a drummer from one of the best alt-rock bands of the \u201990s showing up to throw down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n