So clearly this is my first review. And with that in the back of my head, I felt there was no other band I could even begin to talk about, before I spoke a little on New York based band, Oh, Oh, Ecstasy (OOX); a group I feel very, very, VERY, strongly about.
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So lets start with a little background on the "group":
"Oh, Oh, Ecstasy is a collective of musicians that revolve around the songwriting of Peter Carlovich, the group's only constant member. Live, the band takes on the form of a four or (occasionally), a five piece band as they play washed-out, dreamy pop songs with a punk attitude backing it all up." (From their site)
What I love about oox is something their bio alludes to; their ability to take on different forms. When I first discovered the band back in 2010(ish), they/(he?) was/(were?) playing experimental, noise rock. This music, for lack of better words, sucked. Really, it did. You could barely listen to it. Their debut single (if you can call it that) sounded like it recorded on someone's cellphone or with a shitty video camera. Not in a cool cellphone way like some early Isaac Brock/Modest Mouse recordings. More like a shitty youtube video of a shitty band. Lets fast forward a year or so. OOX, inspired by other New York bands like Real Estate, Beach Fossils and Ducktails, starts releasing songs with more a "lets-go-surfing-and-watch-wes-anderson-movies-on-the-beach-with-wine" kind of vibe. As overplayed as this surprisingly narrow genre is now, oox happened to pull it off quite well. But this wasn't good enough for Peter; He was over that sound, before it even began. The next year was pretty quiet for oox. They played a few shows around NYC at places like The Knitting Factory and Webster Hall, but they didn't release any new material on their site. As 2012 came to a close and 2013 lingered in the yonder, Mr. Carlovich started cooking up new ideas. He wanted to make the perfect album. An album for himself. As romantic as this may sound, this could've resulted in... well... anything. Who knows what Peter could've pulled out of his musical butthole. Luckily, what he did pull out was Murder Tape.
How to describe Oh, Oh, Ecstasy's Murder Tape? Well, I think Peter explains it the best. It's the album he wants to listen to. And without a doubt this shows. As each song plays through, you find yourself saying "that's exactly how I want it to sound." It's clear that every aspect, down to even the most minor guitar tone or synth overlay, is well thought-out and crafted.
Now hold your horses because you can't download any of the tracks from the album just yet, and unfortunately there's only one track from the album up on their band camp- but don't let this scare you off. From the first listen of "Burnout Drag Scene", you can see the craftsmanship. Even if you don't dig the song, try and holdout until the album drops in a couple of weeks; you're gonna like the way you look, I guarantee it.
Listen if you like:
Ariel Pink, Chris Cohen, R. Stevie Moore, John Maus, Deerhunter, Black Flag
Don't listen if you like:
Pig Destroyer, Die Antwoord
Love,
