OH GEEEZ
Hopes & Horrors
Milwaukee, WI, United States
Oh Geeez are hitting hard with their latest album, ‘Hopes & Horrors.’ It's an indie pop paradise, with bright colours and melodies that touch the clouds. The album sits in this funky gloom that twists and swells as the tracks play out. The 00s rock mixed with contemporary pop brings into play a songwriting style that cannot be found anywhere else. Oh Geeez have vocals that rival any band on the pop scene plus instrumentals that can get thick with guitars, twinkle like stars through synths or bury you in the melody with bass and drums. It's a diverse album but the sound never strays from the Oh Geeez vintage; it's all about the hook and it makes for some smashing songs.
‘Welcome to Gravesfield’ starts us off, and what a welcome it is. Synths twinkle in the front while vocals add ambience in the back. The percussion is thick and bright, shifting from chipper to hip-hop textures at the drop of a hat while the song grows and grows. It's building the world around you, one that stays up late watching 80s horror flicks and munching popcorn. It’s cool, it's stylish and it sounds ever so intriguing. Once you jump down the sonic rabbit hole you never come back out but in the case of ‘Hopes & Horrors,’ that may not be such a bad thing.
Songs burst out of the darkness with attitude, funk and a musicality that is infectious. ‘Eyes On You,’ with its earworm of a melody that will be with me for days, the sub-bass growling in the bleak and the vocals strutting about on top of it all, cool as a cucumber. ‘Strong One’ slows it down and adds some acoustic textures to the album. It's a nice change, but acoustic doesn’t mean the melody was left behind, oh no! There’s a slight swing in the drums that makes the bass line sing while the vocals step down a register to swoon with warm tones. The track comes together like a ballad and is a highlight on the album. The unfortunate thing is that there are too many highlights, it’s impossible to pick a favourite!
I will be honest, as I like to be in my reviews. After I had heard one song I believed I understood the sound and that the rest would follow suit. It would charm and delight and then move on. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I’m now sat here with an entire pie on my face, gobsmacked by the sheer variety and vast tonal repertoire of Oh Geeez’s ‘Hopes & Horrors.’ Each track brings something new, you’re dancing, you’re crying, you’re laughing. There are snippets from the news and a commercial. The whole album really feels like you’ve dipped into your favourite pulp flick except the score is one thousand times better than you remember. Oh Geeez have mastered indie pop, they are true champions of the genre, and when discussing bands that are making waves in this space, be sure to mention that ‘Hopes & Horrors’ is a metaphorical tsunami in the indie ocean.