At first glance, 3 seems like a perfectly fitting title for a new Nots album. After all, it is the Memphis band’s third full-length and their first as a trio. Makes sense. But peeling back the layers reveals the spirit of the record: “Once we really leaned into the space that being a three-piece afforded us, our writing started to make better sense and connect,” explains guitarist-keyboardist-vocalist Natalie Hoffmann. “It made for a more interesting record than if we stayed comfortable and safe in the way we were writing.”

After the record began to take form, it felt much more accurate to understand 3 as a different force altogether from its Goner predecessors, Cosmetic (2016) and We Are Nots (2014). Themes of lost control and societal division are spread throughout the album. They can be heard not only via Hoffmann’s reverb-drenched drawl, but also in the sneaky tightness between drummer Charlotte Watson and bassist Meredith Lones that occasionally (and quickly) devolves into a beautiful, reckless cacophony before shoring back up again. All this amounst to a dark, unpredictable, raucous, liberating, and bold tour de force of a third record from the Memphis three—along with a strong impression that the best still yet to come. Released in the spring of 2019 and available here on. vinyl and CD.