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Record Reviews1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 | 0-9| A| B| C| D| E| F| G| H| I| J| K| L| M | | N| O| P| Q| R| S| T| U| V| W| X| Y| Z| < Prev Section | Next Section >  RSS Feed
OBN IIIs:
Self-titled: LP
Killer follow-up to a killer debut. OBN IIIs are untouchable as far as current bands. I like ‘em better than Bad Sports, another of Orville Neely’s notable outfits. They have the “fuck you” swagger and searing guitar tone of The Humpers (but really, no one can play rock’n’roll punk guitar like Billy Burks!). Like their debut album (The One and Only), there are nods to Iggy Pop and The Damned. OBN IIIs were one of the best live acts I caught in 2012, too. The packaging is pretty sweet: gatefold with thick stock cover and a poster included, yet somehow like three dollars cheaper retail than when I bought the first album. Label website says this record cost them sixteen dollars a piece to make. Wild!
–Sal Lucci (Tic Tac Totally)
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OBN IIIS, THE:
No Way to Rock and Roll: 7”
Two stellar songs with plenty of lo-fi rock and roll swagger. The title track brings to mind The Stooges while the B side is a bit slower and reminiscent of 13 Floor Elevators. Well worth seeking out if you dig this sort of stuff.
–Chris Mason (Super Secret)
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OBNOX:
I'm Bleeding Now: LP
The solo debut of This Moment In Black History drummer Lamont Thomas is a noisy, cacophonous affair. Hyper-distortioned, reverby guitar, contrasted with an overall lo-fi sound, creates a muddy feel that requires a few listens to truly appreciate. The initial impact of this wall of muddy sound obscures the technical, rhythmic drumming and the elaborate song structures present in the record, as well as burying the vocals deep in the mix. Getting past that, there is a ton of melody and a high percentage of catchy riffs, making for an overall enjoyable record. “Totaled,” and “Daughter” are the two most accessible tracks, demanding repeated listens, but “Gin and Coke Water,” might be the best track on the record once the listener is used to the vibe of the album. This is not an easily accessible record, but it gets more and more compelling with each play. Dedicated listeners will grow to love this, but those put off by their initial impressions will be hard pressed to give this record the attention it justly deserves.
–Paul J. Comeau (Smog Veil)
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OBNOX:
I’m Bleeding Now: LP
I didn’t even need to check on the location of this one-man freakshow. Middle America? Bingo. This dude has done time in This Moment In Black History and the Puffy Areolas, but this is a different beast altogether. Straddling the line between straight-up noise and the rock’n’roll, like Iggy played back in the day. Swirling noise, yelping vocals, and everything up to eleven. Bastard child of the Clone Defects gone noise…. The soundtrack to Cleveland 2012. This shit is too much for me; I must be getting soft.
–Tim Brooks (12Xu)
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OBNOX:
Smoke Woody Haze EP: 8-Cut 12” Maxi Single
Lamont “Bim” Thomas has been in two powerhouse bands, from the duo Bassholes with Don Howland (the song “Daughter” still stops me cold), to the peace-through-superior-Cleveland firepower of This Moment In Black History. All bands are very worth seeking out in both past and present tense. Obnox is Lamont front and center on vocals and drums. This EP matches Lamont with different hip-hop folks providing the beats, rhymes, and production. I mean, fuck, how many examples do you need of a guy who gets it right musically so often? Great songs crush the empty boxes of flimsy musical genres. You want the hollow rattle of a spent cartridge of something merely shiny or a loaded chamber racked when the purist police and big industry come knockin’ your front door down? Lamont’s been cleaning his weapons, smoking weed, got his Arts and Sciences degree. His answer’s written on the door, plain and simple. Definitely worth your time and purchase.
–Todd Taylor (12XU, 12xu.net)
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OBNOXIOUS OBLOQUY:
Self-titled: CD
Earnest, but painfully redundant Fat Wreck/Epitaph-sounding punk by teenagers. These guys may very well go on to do much better stuff. I ain’t mad at ya.
–Craven (no address)
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OBNOXIOUS YOUTH:
The Eternal Void: LP
Driving hardcore with more than a smidge of rock wedged into their sound. Lyrics are pretty much silly, but the tunes themselves have a nice groove to ‘em in a mid-’80s speed metal kinda way.
–Jimmy Alvarado (Adult Crash, adult-crash.com)
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OBSCENE GESTURE / VARANT MAJARIAN:
In: Clubbing Seals for Fun and Profit: Split CD
It's funny what little, seemingly inconsequential things can tip the scales in a reviewer's mind when assessing the virtues of a new recording. When I first saw the band logos - both of that "scary" lettering ilk, like they were doodled on a notebook cover by some death metal miscreant in detention one day - along with the cover illustration of some smiling little punks beating harp seals over the heads with baseball bats, the Laughable Retard alarms went off in my head. But then I noticed that the little drawings all over this thing are kind of cute in a "Maddy-esque" way and that they even included a funny little board game called the "Punk Point Game" and that sort of reminded of something Crucial Youth would've done back in the day. There's obviously a sense of humor at work here and that almost always makes me less prone to attacking a band with a bag full of dull, rusty adjectives. Obscene Gesture come across like a poor man's Chain of Strength with quasi-religious lyrics, plus they thank "God" in the credits, so I don't think the sense of humor is theirs. It seems to be an outgrowth of the good times vitriol of Varant Majarian. Sure, it's humor that would probably appeal to that miscreant kid doodling in detention, but hell, it's a sense of humor nonetheless. Plus their singer sounds like a cross between Darby Crash and Jello Biafra, and you gotta like that. Two hardcore bands that don't sound like they're trying to sound like each other. Not bad stuff. Give yourselves a few extra punk points, boys.
–aphid (Chicken Head)
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OBSCENE GESTURE / VARANT MAJARIAN:
In: Clubbing Seals for Fun and Profit: Split CD
It’s funny what little, seemingly inconsequential things can tip the scales in a reviewer’s mind when assessing the virtues of a new recording. When I first saw the band logos – both of that “scary” lettering ilk, like they were doodled on a notebook cover by some death metal miscreant in detention one day – along with the cover illustration of some smiling little punks beating harp seals over the heads with baseball bats, the Laughable Retard alarms went off in my head. But then I noticed that the little drawings all over this thing are kind of cute in a “Maddy-esque” way and that they even included a funny little board game called the “Punk Point Game” and that sort of reminded of something Crucial Youth would’ve done back in the day. There’s obviously a sense of humor at work here and that almost always makes me less prone to attacking a band with a bag full of dull, rusty adjectives. Obscene Gesture come across like a poor man’s Chain of Strength with quasi-religious lyrics, plus they thank “God” in the credits, so I don’t think the sense of humor is theirs. It seems to be an outgrowth of the good times vitriol of Varant Majarian. Sure, it’s humor that would probably appeal to that miscreant kid doodling in detention, but hell, it’s a sense of humor nonetheless. Plus their singer sounds like a cross between Darby Crash and Jello Biafra, and you gotta like that. Two hardcore bands that don’t sound like they’re trying to sound like each other. Not bad stuff. Give yourselves a few extra punk points, boys.
–aphid (Chicken Head)
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OBSCENE, THE:
Death Rides a Pale Whore: CD
These frisky Floridians swagger from solid post-Dead Boys punk to balls-out (but mildly less streamlined) Dwarves/Zeke speedcore to mildly synthy deathrock and mildly deathy surf rock, shedding scabby hints of Gang Green, The Cramps, Bang Gang, and the Hudson Falcons along the way. Dumb and mean, but fun and dumb.
–Cuss Baxter (Teenage Antichrist)
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OBSCURE, THE:
The Politics of Person: CD-EP
Far-fuckin’-out, man! This is stylistically perfect psychedelic garage pop that’s thoroughly saturated in an aurally colorful layer of jangly crunch-driven divinity. The sizzlin’ hot lil’ ditties contained herein conjure an intoxicating image of droppin’ a couple of tabs of acid in the middle of a dayglo-hued poppy field while a mind-swirling soundtrack of The Sonics, Them, Shadows Of Knight, and Between the Buttons-era Rolling Stones continuously blares in the background. Of the seven songs that decoratively adorn this delightfully upbeat disc, two (“The Human Condition” and “The American Scene”) are downright funky, and one (“Those Commie Bastards!”) absolutely rocks with pelvic-thrustin’ surf-style swagger! The raucously insane raver, “Give Up," sounds as if it’s a long-lost mid-‘60s garage-rock blaster that’d ideally fit alongside any of the savagely stellar tracks on the original Nuggets comp. Hell yeh, The Obscure frenetically strut their unique sonic stuff all over this mind-blowin’ platter of dazzling musical magnetism. It’s just too damn addictive for mere mortal words to adequately describe. –Roger Moser, Jr.
–Guest Contributor (A.D.)
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OBSERVERS, THE:
So What: CD
Portland punk rock with that Colin kid on bass, who's seemingly in about half of the fucking bands in the state. Portland, for whatever reason, is filled to overflowing with a plethora of four-chord punk bands that have the ability to play fun-as-hell, drunken, put-your-fist-in-the-air-and-sing-along basement shows and then just generally blow it when it comes to capturing that sense of fun and urgency in the studio (with bands like The Minds and The Epoxies notwithstanding). The recording's way too compressed, the guitar's bright as hell, and half the time the vocals are so full of reverb that it sounds like the dude's barking in a garbage can. With a warmer recording (as in, maybe they sound better on vinyl) and a bit of diversity in the vocals, they could have a hit, but as it is, let's just stick to the live shows.
–Keith Rosson (Vinyl Warning)
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OBSERVERS, THE:
Walk Alone b/w The Void, Slipping Away: 7”
For all you pining for the “good old days,” and that there’s nothing out there that’s going to dethrone the past, that they wish they could go into the wayback machine to 1977 or 1982 or whatever, you can experience that type of glory in 2005 with The Observers. They tour like motherfuckers, don’t sound quite like any other band out there, are explosive both on record and live, and you can get in on the ground floor of their musical holocaust (but in a good way, you know), right here, right now. (Just saw them. There were thirty people there, going nuts.) Don’t miss out by staring at a big, sponsored-by-corporations stages and make dildoey, ignorant statements like, “There’s no good punk anymore.” You’ll be kicking yourself in a couple years if you don’t even give The Observers a chance. Here are three more excellent songs by a band that deserves any and all the success coming their way.
–Todd Taylor (Jonny Cat)
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OBSERVERS, THE:
Walk Alone: 7”
Amazing. I’ve yet to hear a misstep from this band. Their music is hard to describe, in that they don’t really sound like anybody else. You can pick out bits and pieces of their influences, but it would really be a disservice to say, “They sound like such and such band.” Driving, intense, brooding, and wholly unique. This recording is a bit more raw than on their full-length, but I actually prefer it that way. The rawness suits them well and I think it makes them sound more cohesive, whereas the LP sounds a little isolated. Regardless, the Observers are one of the best bands going right now and these are three more reasons to own a record player.
–Josh (Jonny Cat)
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OBSERVERS, THE:
So What’s Left Now?: CD
Ho-ly go-d-dam-ned sh-it, this record’s fantastic. It’s denatured, so many of its elements are intentionally off-kilter, which may throw you off on first listen, but stick it out. The reward may just be your new favorite punk band. The singer’s got a mid-paced, almost operatic voice, which makes the vocals sound like a politically informed Damned. But they don’t take the easy cookie cutter route, because the overall effect is a new DIY band stepping on the toes of giants and getting away with it. The bass is thick and slabby without being fret-tastic wankery. The drums are slaps, punches, and tough love. The guitar is Dangerhouse’s barbed wire pulled tight, keeping the compound well protected; the band takes no easy outs. The lyrics are heartbreaking, expansive, and generous, focusing on promises upkept and decay seeping in. If some asshole’s shitting in your ear that all punk’s on a big stage and sounds like taffy coming out of some boy band factory, here is, yet again, proof positive that they have no idea what the fuck they’re talking about. Dig. A diamond.
–Todd Taylor (Vinyl Warning)
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OBSERVERS, THE:
Lead Pill: 7” EP
Eighties-tinged punk rock with smart lyrics and some well-placed cynicism. The line “So I sold my soul just to save some face in front of the fashion police/Life is so much better now that I’ve found beige,” from “Normally Normal,” was brilliant.
–Jimmy Alvarado (Super Secret)
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OBSERVERS, THE:
Down on Today: 7”EP
Rough-and-tumble demo versions of four Observers tracks (three of which showed up on So What’s Left Now (one of 2004’s best records). These four songs from 2003 are very 4-track bedroom recording-y, yet showcase the cocoon which The Observers would quickly emerge from. What these are are rough sketches and under paintings of really great songs. I wouldn’t say that this is just for completists—as it’s a bit more interesting than a mere mile marker—but it’s not as essential as any of their proper releases when they were an active band. Silk-screened covers, limited to 1,000.–
–Todd Taylor (Taken By Surprise, myspace.com/takenbysurpriserecords)
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OBSERVERS, THE:
So What’s Left Now?: LP
Recently re-issued by Taken By Surprise, it never really seemed that hard to find in the States (courtesy of Vinyl Warning), but if there’s a record that deserves to stay in print, it’s this one. Top 10 record of the ‘00s without a doubt. Hauntingly flawless melodies mixed with driving, rallying punk rock and intelligent lyrics. And in the end, as much as I love this record and find myself listening to it years later, one of my favorite things is that these guys are still playing in absolutely killer bands. If you don’t have this, I highly suggest putting down this magazine and getting your hands on it. And while you’re at it track down all the Red Dons, Defect Defect, and Artic Flowers releases you possibly can.
–Daryl Gussin (Taken By Surprise)
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OBSESSORS, THE:
Double Scoop: CD
Total Devo-influenced punk rock with cool girl and boy vocals! With keyboards! I have no idea, but I hope their live shows feature lasers. New wave silliness, with lyrics about zombies, toxic waste, kleptomaniacs, and presidential stutters (seriously!). If this were a cereal, it’d be Cocoa Krispies. Take regular Rice Krispies (sort of political, serious lyrics), then add tons of chocolate and sugar! Yum!
–Maddy (Braindart)
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OBSESSORS, THE:
Living Under the Power Lines: CD
I love generic ‘77 punk. I had hopes for this CD because it has classic-looking, neon punk artwork and the band’s name starts with a “The.” Unfortunately, there is not much else going on. The pace from song to song almost never changes and the vocals are mechanical. There are no hooks and when the songs do slow down, they just drag. There are interesting sci-fi style titles that get my hopes up, but the songs drag on too long to carry the more interesting concepts.
–Billups Allen (Braindart)
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OBSESSORS, THE:
Excessive: LP
Dunno why, but my brain’s immediate go-to comparison here is Servotron, though without the robot spiel mucking things up. Could be the dual male/female vocals, could be the synth-tinged punk sound. Tunes are catchy ‘n’ fun.
–Jimmy Alvarado (Braindart, myspace.com/braindartrecords)
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OBSESSORS, THE:
Excessive: LP
Not sure what’s up with this. Sounds like it even would have been mediocre poppy punk fifteen years ago, which is when it sounds like it is from. Nothing offensive, just female-fronted poppy punk with some keyboards. Sounds like they’re having fun. I sure wasn’t.
–Vincent Battilana (Braindart)
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OBSOLETES:
Is This Progress?: CD
Yes! Wisconsin does it again! You’d think having two AMAZING bands (The Modern Machines, Fury of a Thousand Zeuses) in one state would be enough, but we here in the DairyState constantly surpass all projections for punk rock greatness! The Obsoletes feature two former members of the amazing and under-appreciated pop punk band Yesterday’s Kids. This time around, it’s way more pop, way more influenced by classic country and the Replacements (the album includes an obscure ‘Mats cover), and it’s so damn good! These are just great songs, period. I can’t stop listening to it. My only slight criticism? Slowed down vocals on “Little Gurl.” So strange, and so bad! But, minor complaints aside, this is, at least, Honey Nut Chex: simple and amazing. And, who knows? After a few more dozen listens, it may even become Corn Pops!
–Maddy (145 Records)
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OBSTRUCTION:
Self-titled: 7”+CD-R
I’ve spent the last few weeks
going back over my favorite hardcore records, and putting this on was a perfect
way to continue my current “kick.” Obstruction plays thrashy hardcore punk that
could be compared to Faith or DRI. They push it fast enough to the point where
you think that things will begin to fall apart, but then they pull it back in
for a perfectly placed slow part. I’ll have to keep an eye out for more from
these guys.
–Dave Dillon (Lunchbox)
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OCB:
Self-titled: 7” EP
So far as I’m able to glean via the internet, this is a three-man punk band hailing from Greece. The songs are tight ’n’ fast, though less “hardcore” than zippy punk stuff.
–Jimmy Alvarado (www.blindbastard.com)
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