By Jared Gudnason 

Writer/Reporter 

Three songs in, Philadelphia’s own Nothing played “Downward Years to Come,” the title track to their 2012 debut record. It’s a very happy song, and with the addition of a third guitarist, they sounded the best I’ve ever heard them play live.  

The remaining sole original member is Domenic Palermo, who released the first recordings independently in 2010. Nothing, overall, is a product of their hometown’s punk rock scene, with the band being arguably Palermo’s third musical endeavor.  

Following “Downward,” there was at least a two-minute ethereal wall of sound from their amplifier stacks, which branding remained hidden due to smoke machines and an incredible light show. In that duration, the opening notes to the first song on 2014’s “Guilty of Everything” swirled into the audience. Another uplifter of a title. That record is in my top 10 of the 2010s. Clearly the band name and song titles are meant to infer desolation, but that was simultaneously the beauty of the performance. Those opening notes were to the song “Hymn to the Pillory,” and after another minute, the band hit the first loud notes of the entire song.  

Nothing is distinct in the world of shoegaze, a form of music originating in the U.K. They differ because their sound is highly abrasive, whereas English performers tend to be mellower, such as bands like Spiritualized, Slowdive, and Ireland’s My Bloody Valentine, all three of which have played in the Twin Cities Metro. Spiritualized played at the same venue the last time I saw them, First Avenue’s associate Fine Line Music Cafe.  

Nothing is promoting the release of their sixth record, “A Short History of Decay” via Boston’s Run For Cover Records. Ten years back on tour for their second record; they were robbed of their luggage a day before in Chicago. As fellow show patrons, we all donated clothes to them. Glad to see Nothing being titans of their own scene, as they have endured too many misfortunes in the past, and are beyond deserving of the success from their artistic status.