Indie rockers No One Sphere – Dave Mann’s post-Mittenfields project – is certainly picking up steam in early 2022. Later this month (March 18th to be precise), the group releases their debut full length ‘Isn’t Everything About Something‘ on the Broken Sound Tapes label out of Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

The album was recorded with Jarrett Nicolay at Mix Tape Studios in Alexandria, VA. To say that Jarrett contributed to the sound of this project would be a vast understatement. Jarrett not only lent his production skills to the effort, he played all of the instruments as well. Mann and Nicolay together crafted a unique sonic vision.

The band’s album captures the diverse musical influences of Mann’s kaleidoscopic and encyclopedic sonic grasp. The arrival of No One Sphere fills a need for an indie rocker that is not a statement about something, a song that is not pretentious or precious. The single Ceiling Fan manages to create a chantlike chaos of melodic deconstruction that is similar to the musical heart of Wilco’s experimental period. The slinky stagger of the bass line moves along a jazzy rhythm that would not be out of place on a funk record. The lyrics sway from meaningful self disclosure to deliberate non-sensical rhyming. In that way, the song feels akin to Wilco’s deconstruction era of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost is Born. Yet the jangly indie rock center of the song has a Pixies-like gravity.

Ceiling Fan pulls from many classic independent influences in its barely over three minute length. Listeners hear elements of Wire, Gang of Four, mid-’90s era R.E.M., the before mentioned Pixies, Half Japanese and The Replacements.

If the music industry were a fair minded affair, No One Sphere would be at the top of everyone’s new album recommendations. You can follow No One Sphere on Twitter and Instagram. We also recommend that you keep an eye out on their YouTube channel!

RIYL: Wire, Gang of Four, The Pixies, Half Japanese, R.E.M., The dbs, and The Replacements