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O'Brother
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Description
Experimental | Ambient | Heavy
Comfort zones are overrated—just ask the five members of the Atlanta-based rock outfit O'Brother. When they decamped from their home turf in early 2013 to take over a rented house on wintry Long Island, the idea wasn't just to update the hard-edged sound they'd achieved on their debut full-length Garden Window with producer Mike Sapone (known for his work with Brand New, Crime in Stereo, Public Enemy and more). This time out, the band reconvened with Sapone to embark on a mind-expanding journey into strange new territory, lyrically and sonically. All it took was a little inspiration.
“I think with this record, we wanted to leave more room to allow the songs to change in the studio," says lead singer and guitarist Tanner Merritt. “We basically had the structure, the skeletons, for all the songs, but we did a lot more experimentation while recording than we'd done in the past, which was a goal of ours going in. We just wanted an opportunity to work with soundscapes and layers and noises—and we were definitely listening to a lot more psychedelic music. We were on a huge Pink Floyd kick and watching live DVDs every day back at the house."
Right from the opening ambient guitar strains of the leadoff track “Come into the Divide," there's a confident and resolute intention behind O'Brother's new sound. It seems almost at odds with the album's title, Disillusion, but then, grappling with uncertainty—and for that matter, casting it in the positive light of infinite possibility—has clearly become one of the band's strengths. Another case in point: the new album marks the debut of Jordan McGhin, who joined the permanent lineup during last year's summer tour, in the wake of longtime guitarist Aaron Wamack's departure.
“Jordan has a real unique writing style when it comes to heavy music," observes drummer Michael Martens, “but if you hand him an acoustic guitar, he'll play some of the most amazing classical stuff you've ever heard. He's invaluable because of his spot specifically in the band—he only plays baritone guitar with us, so that gives us a lot of our extra punch and low end, which I guess we're becoming known for. His complementary parts really help make it all work."
A tight camaraderie and chemistry keeps O'Brother together, infusing Disillusion with a focused energy that seems to flow directly from the hive mind of the band. It starts with the rhythm section; Martens and bassist Anton Dang have been playing together since they were teenagers, crafting an unspoken symbiosis that comes through in the heavy-leaded syncopation of “Perilous Love" or the well-timed hits that pepper the liquid atmospherics over the first half of the title track. Meanwhile, McGhin and founding guitarist Johnny Dang engage in a near-constant interplay, orchestrated with precision in the lushly textured “Path of Folly"—a persistent groove that surges with high-flying overdrive and tastefully twangy guitar passages.
