Every great record needs an equally great story behind it – and Oneida’s newest record, “The Wedding” certainly has a great tale. I cannot vouch for the authenticity, but the story goes that Oneida constructed the largest music box on the East Coast, something that would require a massive mechanical manipulation to issue its otherworldly tones. And supposedly, this music box formed the center of the writing of their new album “The Wedding.” Now, little – if any – of these music box tones make it onto the record. Perhaps, more revealing is Kid Millions admission that, through the music box, they were trying to make a record that sounded like the Left Banke if they were a machine. If I’m interpreting that statement correctly, that means Oneida set out to create an album reminiscent of the Left Banke’s ornate and charismatic 60s pop songs, with a certain harsh edge. In fact, that exactly encapsulates much of the “The Wedding,” which also concurrently pays heed to the band’s past.
The album begins with an astonishing maneuver. “The Eiger” is a gorgeous neo-chamber song, perhaps a distance cousin to Bjork’s “Hunter” (minus all the programming/beats). The song strips away all of Oneida’s usual psych guitars and organs, leaving Brian Coughlin and the Fireworks Ensemble’s string arrangements to carry the song. The vocals reinforce the poignancy of the music, telling the story of a snowy mountain inhabitant who yearns for a pretty girl with an almost innocent honesty. The record’s title is telling: this is Oneida at their most emotionally direct and many of the songs feel nearly romantic. “Know,” likewise, carries a vulnerable heartfeltness in its lyrics and vocal melody, again supported by the Fireworks’ lovely strings. “High Life” imparts the same feeling in a more goofy/comic manner. Buoyed by electro-keyboards flourishes, the song offers lines “I will never tell a soul that you finished my last bowl,” yet seems oddly sincere and loving.
The musical shifts create surprises throughout the record. “Charlemagne” is a wistful pop song, carrying an admiration for 60s orchestral pop. “Run Through My Hair” feels like Zeppelin’s “Battle of Evermore” if it hadn’t been so damn medieval. There’s intricate mandolin plucking, but the intrusion of electric guitar shrieks reminds us we’re still in the age of electricity. “Lavender” is another strong musical misdirection. It begins with a lone foreboding and melancholy organ phrase, before settling into an upbeat drum/swelling organ pounce. This song features the same pulsing rhythm and repetition as displayed on Oneida’s last album, “Secret Wars,” but they’ve stripped away the noise – at least for this song – leaving a track that is hard and loud but not abrasive.
However, Oneida hardly drops their riff-heavy psych rock drone legacy altogether. With “Did I Die,” Oneida manages unite Black Sabbath and early Kiss into one amazing guitar frenzy, including one of their best chorus shouts ever. Elsewhere, Oneida gets heavy and hazy in slower manners. “The Beginning Is Nigh” is a long, building space-rock jam, imbued in all sorts of Pink Floyd paranoia. “Spirits” and “Heavenly Choir” are both thick psych-organ rock, full of thunderous drums – the former especially notable for its compelling vocal arrangement.
“The Wedding” was a record nearly four years in the making that ultimately sounds like few other records, and marks a sharp departure for Oneida. The variation between pretty minor-key pop and slow-burning heaving allows a listener to truly appreciate the range and skills on display throughout the album. Oneida has long been overlooked as one of New York’s truly explosive bands, and though they’ve moved out of the NYC, perhaps “The Wedding” will finally raise their prominence to deserving heights. |