album review: oscar + martin, for you
What genre would you call boppy, squiggly electronica, with hip-hop beats and a comfortably inconsistent rhythm? Yeah, it got me too. This sets Oscar + Martin apart from the other nu-wave, minimalist bands that Melbourne seems to be teeming with. They have found their niche in the local scene with bands like Seekae, Rat vs Possum and Ghoul. Formally known as psuche, they are Martin King and Oscar Sloach-Thorn and having recently supported Caribou and Four Tet, they’re on the rise.
Working your way through the track listing, you can almost visualize the beat in your head. I like it when music does that. I like that the beats, however weird and loopy, make me close my eyes and dance in squirmy little twitches. The duos vocals chime in and out, glockenspiels make it cute, and you can break into sporadic handclap fits.
Make sense? No, because it shouldn’t. Music that doesn’t make sense sets it apart.
Probably my favorite thing about the album is that each song transports you to a different place. Whether it’s a wild field party (do go to one of those, they’re wondrous), a candle-lit bar, or a cocoon of blankets on a rainy day, they’re great places. The opening track, My Blood, goes into that exact direction. Wavy, hazy, it’s a fun one to frolic around to. Do The Right Thing, is the right amount of upbeat and chill, you can play it over and over again and get lost in the simplicity of it. For Gotye fans out there, the track Milk is what you would get if you combined his unique sound with laughing gas. I would recommend listening to the words of each song, obviously, they’re very… special, for lack of a better word. The song All I Think About is one of those songs that you feel has an excellent story behind it, with lines like ‘girl, where did you get your Darth Vader powers/you’re all I think about now’. It tickles your fancy, just a tad.
It would be difficult to pick out a favorite track, they all start and finish in ways you wouldn’t expect, with juicy bits in between that are a testament to a meticulous production style. You can listen to it over and over again, and enjoy it in a different way. The general feeling is, yeah, I’d like to see these guys live. And for a debut album, that’s a good feeling. They have shows coming up with Architecture In Helsinki in Melbourne and if you’re already going to that, then you’re in for a treat.
