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Obnox - Boogalou Reed

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    chad
    haha "member"

  • Obnox - Boogalou Reed

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    Released by: 12XU Records
    Released on: January 27th, 2015
    Purchase From 12XU

    Lamont "Bim" Thomas is the most prolific dude you haven't heard of yet, he's got The Bassholes, The Puffy Areolas, This Moment In Black History, The Unholy Two, Blaxx and he's probably started 10 other bands in the time he took me to type that. But we're here today to focus on his solo project Obnox, as Obnox he's released roughly a dozen LPs, EPs and 45s in the last 4 years all while being a stay at home dad...I think I've accomplished a lot if I can get 3 loads of laundry done in 8 hours. I'm a huge Bassholes fan so when I first read he had a solo album coming out a few years back I was curious, I picked it up and suddenly found myself with a new favorite artist, it's a huge fucking hassle though cause this motherfucker's got a new release every couple months and I always gotta get it.

    So his newest release is Boogalou Reed on 12XU Records outta Austin and it's a mother!

    It starts off with a Stevie Wonder cover that almost sounds like My Bloody Valentine if they'd come from the Rust Belt and had some sludge in their veins, the next track is Cynthia Piper At The Gates Of Dawn and you realize behind the fuzz and noise that Bim has a flair for melodic pop songs.

    The third track is one of my favorites, Slaughter Culture, Bim sent me a rough mp3 of this track back in September and I listened to it several times in a row while traveling that week. How many songs you know that name check Michael Jackson, Johnny Cash, Jimi Hendrix, Tiki Fulwood, Anita Ward and Billy Idol? It's a rant against haters, bandwagon jumpers and crazy bitches, remove the vocal track and it sounds like a surf song from hell.

    https://soundcloud.com/gerardcosloy/...ughter-culture

    Too Punk Shakur isn't just a clever name, it's a hilarious song about going out on a Saturday night looking to have a good time, everybody's drunk, you get told you're too punk and it just turns into one of those nights. If that song doesn't make you laugh, you may need to get your brain checked out.

    We've arrived at the title track, it's all backwards guitars and off-kilter boom bap drums which make a beautiful combination, I've listened to this album maybe 20 times and I'm still not sure what he's singing about here.

    You Know I Love You, of course you do, that's why you're so prolific

    Situation is Bim crooning a love song about a crumbling relationship, I could easily see this song being on a slept-on 70s Soul album

    Yes, Ohio is a cover of the CSNY chestnut about the murder of 4 unarmed students at Kent State, no, it is not done acoustic, it owes more to Crazy Horse noisey Neil than soft folkie Neil. On a slightly related note, I have a friend who was an art student at Kent State when the shooting happened. Considering the state of our nation, our police force and the murder of Tamir Rice by the Cleveland Police in a park Bim would take his daughter to, I would say this is an especially timely cover, he even speaks at 2:53 in to say things haven't changed in Ohio and it's still a struggle to survive.

    Watching You kicks off side two with some nice distorted guitars and those boom bap drums, the best way to describe this is as a boast track cause Bim is letting all comers know that he's got his third eye open and he's got it focused strictly on all haters.

    Marinol is an ode to Marijuana pills, I feel it should be pointed out that Obnox is a very Pro-Weed group

    I Climbed A Mountain is a jam about coming out on top, just do it and be the fucking best at it no matter what.

    Empire is Bim crooning in a voice that reminds me of early Prince about clearing out all that false rock'n'roll bullshit clogging up the airwaves

    Going For Myself is a fuzzed-out cover of an Eddie & Ernie song from the mid 60s, Eddie & Ernie were a Soul duo from Phoenix who never quite reached the big time, it's a pretty faithful cover and I really dig the organ action. Here's the original version:




    All Hail The Deejay was originally on last year's "The Juke That Sat By The Door" EP, it was a 4 track recording there and it sounds fuller and less fuzzed out here

    Protopipe rounds things up with a under 2 minute blast of fucked-up noise and rasped vocals

    This is my first review in quite awhile, now I remember that I take too goddamn long to write this shit and I gotta speed it up. Granted I did complete 2 loads of laundry in the time it took me to do it so there's that. Seriously though, Lamont Thomas is a good dude and a helluva nice guy who also happens to make ridiculously awesome music. Do yourself a favor and pick up Boogalou Reed along with the rest of his solo work and then check out the other stuff, you won't regret it.

    • Ian Jane
      #1
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      Ian Jane commented
      Editing a comment
      Gave the first few Obnox releases a spin, I definitely dig this. I'll check out this new album asap.

    • Mark Tolch
      #2
      Mark Tolch
      Senior Member
      Mark Tolch commented
      Editing a comment
      Haha, great review. I laughed a bunch, and I'll definitely check this out.

    • chad
      #3
      chad
      haha "member"
      chad commented
      Editing a comment
      Cool, glad y'all dug it! I'll have another review up later this week
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