“oblivians”
Oblivians
… Play Nine Songs With Dr. Quintron
Crypt
There was a limited retrieval of support for the Oblivians’ last and slickest release Popular Favorites. To many, Favorites was a poor follow up to their phenomenal Crypt debut Soul Food Cafe. (A hard-ass act to follow.) And despite how hungry the Oblivians’ rabid following was for any new materiel, Favorites came off as maybe a little too slick for the band whose distinct trademark and initial appeal was the fact they sounded like something from the gutters, sewers and dumpsters of rock’n’roll.
There just ain’t enough three chord R&B riffs to go around, and between JSBX, Flat Duo Jets, the Chrome Cranks and Oblivians, the whole genre runs the risk of falling in on itself. Definitely to avoid the repetitive nature of the style, the Oblivians needed to inject the band with somethin’ new. Along comes Dr. Quintron, providing organ and percussion.
At best, but probably far from intentional, this Oblivians line up sounds somewhat reminiscent of the MC5 – definitely something awesome deserving a little recognition and resurrection. A far cry from Soul Food Cafe, Nine Songs is still some real solid material with some awesome blues standards, but it still comes off as rather subdued, considering the Oblivians’ previous ability to just not give a damn and let it all hang out. Crypt Records, 1250 Long Beach Ave., Suite 310, Los Angeles, CA 90021
