Being let down is one of the worst feelings in the world. Whether it’s because your football team has been relegated or your best mate has just shacked up with your bird, there’s not much worse than that sinking feeling. It’s made all the worse when a band creates a great album, only to follow it up with a slice of geek pop that isn’t really fit to use as a drinks coaster. C’mon Ozma, step forward into the hall of shame because you’ve come up with a record which takes everything good from your last one and dumps it in a trashcan, replacing it with some of the most banal drivel I’ve heard this year.
‘Spending Time’ is practically the nearest thing to ‘Rock and Roll…’ than any other track on the album and even then it isn’t comparable to the record’s better songs. The dull, lethargic ‘Your Name’ plods along while ‘Come Home Andrea’ has an alt-country vibe that comes across like Flogging Molly unplugged. The vocals (provided by Daniel and Ryen) aren’t allowed to flex their muscles and all to often the well-smoothed out production, courtesy of Chris Fudurich, drowns out any kind of emotion. There’s no passion and no emotion and with a lack of catchy moments it’s a record with far too many gaps.
‘Bad Dogs’ has been available for download for a while now and although it does encapsulate some of the Ozma moments of old, it certainly comes across like the newer Weezer material. Ditto ‘Turtleneck Coverup’ and for the first time on this record you can imagine Rivers Cuomo handling frontman duties. Maybe this is a reason why the new songs are passionless – have they intentionally ditched their Weezerisms? The Asian-influenced ‘Utsukushii Shibuya’ is a continent too far for me, while the synth infused ‘Game Over’ does hint at all of Ozma‘s best bits, but doesn’t hit the spot. It’s frustrating because you know they are capable of making a great record, but this seems to be within themselves. If Irish popsters Ash ever encorporate a keyboard into their sound, they will write this song.
From here it’s a similar mixed bag. ‘Curve In The Old 1-9’ isn’t too bad and ‘Eponine’ is a standout compared to some of the tracks, but then slow-burners like ‘Restart’ grind the flow to a complete standstill. Gone are the catchy melodies, the quirky poppiness and the clever, catchy Weezer-esque pop ditties that littered their previous offering. Instead we have a band that have gone back to look for their ‘art’ – but instead of a Van Gogh we have a pale imitation. I was left with extremely high hopes when I received this record, but ultimately it’s a big turn off. It’s too experimental, less accessible and too different. Maybe some people will enjoy it, but I am certainly left with a disappointed frown.
www.ozmaonline.com
Paul