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 Oppenheimer
Take The Whole Midrange And Boost It
06.03.08
Bar None Records
http://www.oppenheimermusic.co.uk
It’s just a tad ironic, but OPPENHEIMER pony up a Wonka-esque Chocolate Factory of sweet synth-pop.
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OPPENHEIMER are from Belfast, in lovely northern Ireland. They have been pegged as an Irish Flaming Lips, which luckily is not the case, but still more than manage to hold their own in the hook department. Ostensibly a duo, with occasional extra hands on deck, they play electronic pop music has a lot of sense of humor to it without turning into a joke.
Take The Whole Midrange And Boost It is charmingly dorky but dexterously played and put together. Initially a collaboration birthed from a shared love of Moog synths, Shaun Robinson and Rocky O’Reilly have put together a huge sounding world of synths and processed vocals that is as hooky as The Pulsars or The Pixies without guitars being the focal point. I figured I would hate this, especially after hearing about them touring with They Might Be Giants for seven months last year. That’s no diss on TMBG; they have done good music for years, but a whole lot of their fanbase seem to be mouth-breathing, shut-in variety.
The opening track was ominiously not good, but from track two on, OPPENHEIMER will suck you in with some Vocoder-driven digital delight. It’s just a tad ironic, but OPPENHEIMER pony up a Wonka-esque Chocolate Factory of sweet synth-pop. They’ve got fans in Tim Wheeler from Ash, who sang on one of their early singles, and TMBG, who have a hell of a lot of clout for a couple of wacky guys. Shows opening up for Bob Mould and Hot Chip haven’t hurt them either.
In fact, as a band, OPPENHEIMER is much closer to a tongue-in-cheek Hot Chip than a techno Flaming Lips. Their first release sold out its entire pressing and garnered them a pretty good MySpace buzz. While Robinson and O’Reilly have sold some records, they have done just as well when it comes to licensing tracks, placing songs on Ugly Betty and Gossip Girl. While they might not be the most highbrow avenue, it certainly has spread the OPPENHEIMER name to the masses. They’ve openly claimed that their name doesn’t have any connection to the scientist of the same name, but with Take The Midrange And Boost It, OPPENHEIMER will blind you with their science and hit you with technology.
written by: Rob Browning posted by: JoJo BA
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