Obits - Moody, Standard and Poor (2011)

Moody, Standard and Poor is the 2nd LP by Obits, a band from Brooklyn, New York notably featuring Rick Froburg, the former frontman of a highly-regarded hardcore band called Drive Like Jehu and terrific punk band called Hot Snakes. Obits are unlike any of his other projects, however. They don’t have the raw emotional outbursts that characterized Drive Like Jehu songs, and they just aren’t as aggressive as Hot Snakes were.

The songs on this album are built around very understated, controlled melodies, simple drum beats, audible bass melodies, with one of the guitars just sort of chiming, buzzes and screaming over everything. With post-punk bands like this, it’s really all about the sound. You want to hear something unsettling that doesn’t try to be pretty or melodic or fun, but gets mileage from portraying a certain type of emotion—and it’s generally a relatively bleak one.

These songs are rarely far above midtempo and for the most part they avoid being too loud and aggressive. These guys aren’t going for the catharsis of Drive Like Jehu or the intensity of Hot Snakes. In some ways, you could call this band a more restrained version of Fugazi. It's a moody album (partially titled appropriately) with some really nice, rough guitar tones.

Obits are not doing anything new in terms of sound and approach to their sound. Many of these songs are very straightforward and an obvious complaint is going to be the lack of variation, but at thirty-five minutes, this thing doesn't overstay its welcome. My main issue with this album is that, because nothing really gets all that loud, it might not be the most gritty, or loud, or dark, or most [anything] post-punk album you'll hear.


That doesn't mean it isn't worth your time. The melodies and the textures are nice enough. Forburg's vocals have an urgency to them that is sometimes at odds with the music. When a guy is wailing over slow, midtempo, understated melodies, it doesn't always make for something especially intense. These guys are going to fill clubs just by virtue of playing that sort of slightly abrasive post-punk.

I am a firm believer that it is perfectly okay to adopt a sound or a specific set of influences and just go with it. Not every band has to rewrite the book or necessarily do anything that throws sand in the face of convention.

I like their sound, and Obits are the kind of band that I could see live and expect to have some common musical interests with the rest of the crowd, but what makes Moody, Standard, and Poor work for me is the songwriting. They deliver some great melodies and some great guitar sounds. My favorite tracks include the urgent "I Want Results," the almost dancable "New August," "Shift Operator" which has one of the catchiest vocal hooks on the album, and "I Blame Myself" which is the band at its moodiest with a brooding bass melody and this really hollow guitar sound.

I can definitely see how one music fan’s reaction would be to just revel in the mood and tones on this album, and how another fan might hear these sounds all sort of blending together. I find myself liking most of the songs on this album, loving some of them. Hating none of them. I like this album, if you like this type of music, you may enjoy it. Go listen.