Not Of – “The Mark” (video) (premiere)

For all the attention fashionable noise rock bands such as Metz and the Band Formerly Known As Viet Cong have received, another Canadian band has quietly put out a debut album that is just as good, or perhaps even better than those two buzzworthy acts.

Then again, Not Of aren’t exactly publicity hounds. The duo gave themselves a deliberately Google-unfriendly band name, and although both are veterans of the Toronto music scene, they prefer to downplay their identities.

In their new video for the scorching track “The Mark”, it’s not as if the guys are hiding their faces — in fact anyone familiar with Toronto indie rock will probably guess who they are quickly — but like they say, it’s not about what they did, but what they’re doing now. And what they’re doing now deserves to be heard.

“Our names are obviously pseudonyms,” they say. “Though you’ve likely heard some of our previous work, suffice to say that we’d rather it didn’t colour what we’re doing now.

“We put this video together with the help of Divorce, Karl DiPelino & David Dunham. It captures the claustrophobia of us compacting ourselves into our cramped rehearsal space — as well as the financial claustrophobia of having no budget. All of which is sorta loosely what “The Mark” is about, but let’s not get carried away here. It makes visual racket, and that’s what really matters.”

Pique is available as a name-your-price download via Bandcamp.