Oneida
Indie Rock / Experimental
Oneida is Kid Millions, Bobby Matador, and Baby Hanoi Jane.
If the term "psychedelic rock? conjures images of starry-eyed, fey acid-cases traipsing around a forest or heroin-abusing, nihilist, guitar-strangling acid-cases, then what the fuck is Oneida?
Completely, totallly, undeniably incredible psychedelic rock.
Oneida has blown the ears off of listeners over seven years, 6 albums, countless odometer miles, and a soundtrack for a documentary about demolition derbies by forging their own diverse sound. Rather then paint themselves into a corner by relying on cliches, the band has let their own personality remail the unifying force in a boundary ignoring romp through sounds, textures and moods. This is whyl the band can veer from compact, infectious pop to pummeling rock to epic balladry, all while sounding like no one else but Oneida.
Reviews of Oneida's records and shows testify to the absence of any pigeonhole suitable for the band. One piece compares the band to Devo and Krautrock, one finds the band delving into MC5 and Blue Cheer territory, while another claims the band to be assaultive noise-rock.
The Nice/Splittin' Peaches EP serves to encapsulate the Oneida's strengths while revealing new ones is no small feat for such a prolific band. Visceral and heavy, "Summerland: is a lumbering rocker that spews a stoned haze without hiding behind it. The insistent groove of "Inside My Head" underscores its infectious melodies with shifting organ drones-think a warmer, more human Silver Apples. "Song Y's" keenign sing-along floats by in under two minutes on a bed of synths and clicks. And then there is the 14 minute-plus"Hakuna Matata," in which a steady thump and loops drive treated vocals in an exercise in sonic hypnosis.
It is a rare band that manages to render gentrification moot; Oneida does exactly that by building a body of material that has created only the following expectations for the band to adhere to: That they create something amazing, that they create something different, and that they sound like Oneida. Nice/Slittin" Peaches delivers on all counts, and leaves those expectations intact for next time
|