Oh No Not Stereo - 003 (Review)
Album art for 003 by Oh No Not Stereo
The independent punk-rock duo of Skyler Nielsen and Mykul Lee, better known as Oh No Not Stereo have an impressive resume that certainly reflects the work ethics that have been associated with their names as of late. Formed in 2003, they have previously self-released one full-length LP, 001, a six track EP, 002, done countless of live shows and the just recently topped it off by releasing their second LP, 003, which is of course the subject of this review.
Appropriately titled, Let’s Get It Started kicks off this record with catchy guitar riffs, drums that makes you jump around a little and equally soothing yet strong vocals reminiscent of the days when the punk-rock genre was at its peak, fronted by bands such as Jimmy Eat World and The All-American Rejects at their best. Unfortunately this record doesn’t never measures up the the greatest works of the aforementioned acts, but expecting that would probably be setting the bar a little too high.
Hurricanes is the second track, and it is another strong one in the same direction, but the same could in all honesty be said about the entire record, and that is perhaps its biggest downfall. After the two initial tracks it becomes increasingly difficult to notice where the current song ends and the next one begins without giving the music your undivided attention. I’m all for coherent and fluid records and believe it is a necessity for any good album, but this is one of those cases where you get a little too much of the good and you eventually end up losing the taste for it.
But don’t get me wrong, if you are a fan of the band, or even the genre, this is still an album worth checking out. Apart from the already mentioned songs, there are a few other really solid tracks on the record. Songs number eight and nine, I Can’t Say and Brothers respectively, both became instant personal favourites. This is most likely because on these two tracks the duo dare venture a bit on the outside of their established comfort zones, with the I Can’t Say featuring a more relaxed sound, while the Brothers really takes it all out in the opposite direction both vocally and lyrically, arguably making it the most powerful experience of the record.
003 is rewarded with 3 out of 6 waves.
At the end of the day however, this record ends up being somewhat of a disappointment. While there is obvious potential and displays of musicianship that transcends most of what is given mainstream attention these days, it seems that Oh No Not Stereo are still searching to find and define their own, unique sound in the studio, because from what I have seen they have a fantastic drive in their live shows that just doesn’t shine through the surface of this record.
PS: Make sure you don’t miss the treat at the very end of the record! At around 3:30 when it seems that Can’t Trust Anyone, the last track, is about to end, a bonus song starts playing. It is exactly the type of piano-rock sound I would love to hear more throughout the record as a variation to the more up-beat tracks that dominate the album.
Check out Oh No Not Stereo’s MySpace profile to preview their music. The record has already been released digitally, and is scheduled to be released as a CD in stores on March 10th.
