Rating: NNN
It’s nice to get a brand new Oblivians record in the mail. In the 90s, the Memphis three-piece of Greg Cartwright, Jack Yarber and Eric Friedl was seminal in fusing the rootsy, rootin’-tootin’ energy of Southern soul with punk’s stripped-down don’t-give-a-fuck attitude.
They’re older and have chased their interests in different directions since they released their last full-length in 97, but it’s nice to hear them playing together again.
To their credit, they don’t try to rekindle the manic energy of their earlier records. Opener I’ll Be Gone feels like as good a song as Cartwright’s ever written, and Little War Child works in the “woo-woo” harmonies that make them sound like a malt shop revival act. But Desperation is hit or miss across the board. Pinball King is literally just a song about pinball. And as a song name/band name anthem, Oblivion’s unremarkable. It’s a nice record, just not a great one, though it seems like the kind of thing that’ll age gracefully. Just like the band.
Top track: I’ll Be Gone
