Back on October 30th, 2007, Xian’s 24 Hours made their first trip to Shanghai to headline S.T.D’s inaugural Live and Undead Halloween show at now-defunct 4Live.

Still rough around the edges, the Shaanxi trio was given the daunting task of following the finest Banana Monkey performance to date, and raucous sets from the short-lived Horror Business and The Dropkicks. Regardless, 24 Hours, then called 24 Hour Party People, held their own with Shanghai’s heaviest weights, brining the show home with a memorable and tight set.

While all the other bands on that loaded bill have fallen by the wayside, 24 Hours quickly established themselves as Xian’s premier band and moved to Beijing, where they were signed by Maybe Mars Records.

Now, on October 31st, roughly two years later to the day, 24 Hours return to Shanghai to celebrate the release of their Martin Atkins-produced debut album No Party People.

Clocking in at a shade over 28 minutes, No Party People is a collection of 8, tight and well-crafted, dance-punk gems that exemplify the band's knack for writing fun and unconventional, alternative pop songs.

The album’s lead track, “My Sir,” laden with bassist/vocalist Zhang Chen’s alternating alto and spoken vocals, guitarist Ren Yilan’s sparse and choppy Stratocaster riffs and, of course, drummer Li Guanyu’s heavy-steady, metronomic skins mastery, sets the perfect tone for an album where the biggest drawback is its brevity.

In the intro for “Fuzz,” 24 Hours employ the slightly-gimmicky use of a gym whistle (a staple of their live show), but by the 30-second mark, Ren’s laser sharp, tube screaming licks, mixed with Li’s open and closed high-hat hits, creates a raucous foundation for the ensuing call and response between Zhang’s voice and the instruments, before heading into all-out chaotic chorus: “fire fire such a liar.”

The penultimate track, “Earthquake,” sung by Li, undoubtedly demonstrates the band at their heights. The heavier-than-hell drums, accentuated by four-on-the-floor kicks, alternating 16th notes on the high-hat and snare and thunderous floor-tom rolls, combine with Zhang and Ren’s crafty string interplay, resulting in what is bound to become a jumpy live anthem.

No Party People is yet another solid release from Maybe Mars, and Saturday's release show at Yuyintang, with added support from Beijing glam punks Rustic and local cover supremacists The Snots, will no doubt be a wild one.