Album Reviews

Forget the Van Gogh-like cover. There’s nothing crazy going on here, or perhaps these four guys just wanted to subliminally suggest that you lend an ear. I’m glad I did.

Not only is the mostly acoustic music smartly turned out, it’s exceptionally well recorded for an indie project, with lots of non-studio room sound (and even a cricket) adding a warming ambience, however it was captured in Nashville, where analog recording remains valued.

Judging by the short bios and equally sketchy pencil or charcoal drawings, these are thoughtful post-college kids (two graduated The Berklee College of Music but don’t hold that against them) trying to turn out intelligent, well-crafted, polished post-rock/pop music and they succeed completely in captivating this old guy’s ears, and from what I can read online, there’s a thirst for this among younger ones too.

This kind of tuneful, earnest almost to a fault material could not have sprung from listening to the foul smoke belching from the mainstream “music business” factories as they’re currently constituted.

No, this breath of fresh air comes, in part, from listening to someone’s “old” record collection and soaking in both the musical and spiritual vibes, plus the sonic values that made recorded music worth listening to and not just hearing. And of course it springs from musical competence, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Most of the material was written by lead singer Terry Price, who’s described as a self-taught guitarist who doesn’t own one, though the Beatlesque/folk-psyche “Marlborough Blues” by trumpeter Mikie Martel was among the more interesting tracks, (both musically and production-wise) on this thankfully short set that leaves you wanting to hear more instead of wishing for some good self-editing (overly long CDs are a big mistake made by too many young bands).

If the influences escape you for the first few tunes (their online bio says they like, among others, Neil Young, Ryan Adams, Spoon, Dylan the Dead, Sufjan Stevens and Otis Redding), when you get to “Never That Cold,” a thoughtful tune about growing up and getting the hell out of the house (a problem too many kids of this generation have, partly because things are so damn expensive now), it will hit you: someone, or all of them are Zombies fans and have absorbed Odessey and Oracle into their musical hides. The singer even sounds eerily like Colin Blunstone, and doesn’t suffer by comparison, which is saying a great deal in my book. One of them even looks like him!

“Never That Cold,” “Skyline,” and “Kathleen,” all tuneful, reflective numbers written by Mr. Price, end the seven song set on an exciting high. This is not Oblio’s first album (the name comes from the only round-headed character in Harry Nilsson’s “The Point”) but if this is where they’ve gotten to on here, the next step could be truly great, as long as the electric piano-laced Zombies influence that jumps out on the final songs doesn’t get overplayed.

Engineer and co-producer Fognode (soundscaper Brian Siskind) has got all the right moves, probably working in less than ideal technical conditions. No disrespect meant, because Fognode is a major talent, but if any young group could prod my friend Roy Halee out of retirement, it’s Oblio. It says on their website (www.obliomusic.com) that they’ve been together since 2004 and have released a previous album and EP.

Is this as good as Oblio gets? I hope not and given that they are touring to promote this release, they can only get better. Meanwhile, you might want to check this charmer out because if you want better music instead of just bitching about how shitty it’s gotten in the pop music world, you have to support it!