I saw Nobel Prize Fighter perform at the Silver Dollar earlier in the month was enjoyed the energy and power behind the band. Taking a no-frills, no nonsense approach to rock, they perform as a tight, but loud power trio. I was curious to see how their impressive live show would transfer to disc.

Their self-titled EP is an encouraging debut. It begins with the balls-out “Blunderbuss”, by far the best track of on disc. The next track “The Winter Chill” relies on a winding guitar riff. Unfortunately, after that the album begins to lose steam, with the only other noteworthy track being the stoner-metal-esque “Reversal.” Compared to their live set, the whole experienced seemed muted. While the EP as a whole is decent, with a good groove here and there, often the melodies are weak and there isn’t enough aggression in the music to cover it up. In addition, there aren’t a heck of a lot of new ideas being presented nor is there much variety.

Still, half a good EP is better than a bad EP. It will be interesting to see if the band is able to build on the foundation they’ve set here. From a performance standpoint Nobel Prize Fighter is very good. Hopefully the best is yet to come.