“Blame,” the newest song by the indie rock/R&B hybrid nodisco. featuring instrumentation by guitar prodigy John Splithoff, clocks in at just over three minutes. However, due to all the layers added as the song progresses, it feels like, at the very minimum, a five-and-a-half-minute jam. The tune is very John Mayer in nature, vocally and structurally, and, with no rhyme or reason, ends with a sudden halt similar to that of “How Does It Feel (Untitled)” by neo-soul great D’Angelo. Overall, it’s a funky tune with a killer melodic line that a live crowd will eat up.
Lyrically, it shows nodisco. expressing that he hasn’t built up the mental fortitude to walk away from a relationship that has run its course, despite his pain: “Yeah, this is really hard to say. I hope you know what this is doing to me.” However, he is in a stage of denial, saying, “you are not to blame,” for the damage caused. It’s the stage of lying to your friends and family and saying, “Oh, no, we’re both part of the problem.” The lyric, “But ya know, that I can see right through,” is telling. He never clarifies “see right through” meaning detecting lies or “see right through” meaning not present… uninterested and indifferent. Both are grounds for therapy, if not a real discussion about moving in separate directions.
Splithoff, who is currently on tour with legendary trumpeter Chris Botti, makes his presence felt about two thirds of the way into the track with an expertly crafted guitar solo. The solo does not take away from nodisco. himself by being too flashy or overembellished, it simply exists within the vibe of the song and could easily be missed on the first listen.
While finding background info on nodisco. was a bit of a challenge, the little material you do find, essentially, tells you everything you need to know. nodisco. is the moniker of Chris Toufexis, who is described as having a varied taste in records… “everything from Ready For The World to Jimmy Eat World” according to his bio. He also seems to be conscious of the thematic elements of his projects, with his first album, 2021’s Who Knew I’d Write Songs About You?, telling the story of an impactful relationship chronologically over seven songs.
A recent post on IG confirmed his upcoming project will be more of the same conceptually. “Speaking of a record, there is one,” he said. “All of these songs come together to tell you a story, just like I did with my first record.”
Follow nodisco. on social media: Facebook / Instagram / Tik Tok / YouTube
