Coming a full two years after it was originally promised, Odonis Odonis' sophomore record nevertheless follows through on the promise of the band's scrappy, lo-fi debut. Split evenly along sonic lines, the Hard Boiled side emphasizes singer-guitarist Dean Tzenos' love of '80s industrial rock. A pounding "Blue Monday" beat anchors "Are We Friends," probably the album's most danceable track, whereas "Order in the Court" offers a more restrained and sonically layered take on the band's manic live energy.
The short instrumental "Release" segues the album into its Soft Boiled side, on which ambient dream pop, like the bubbling build of final track "Alexa Wait," rules the day. The transition between these musical palettes should be a jarring one, but there's a danceable groove that unites the two sides.
This is far more than a simple exercise in genre hopping. Improved production values, courtesy of Colin Stewart, give the material more room to breathe, exposing Tzenos as an underrated pop songwriter. Bafflingly, it was actually recorded before 2011's Hollandaze, although both records stem from the same bout of song writing. Hard Boiled Soft Boiled hits all the right notes while whetting the appetite for whatever Odonis Odonis have in store next. For now, you'd be hard pressed to imagine a better follow up to the band's debut.
Read an interview with Tzenos here.
(Buzz)The short instrumental "Release" segues the album into its Soft Boiled side, on which ambient dream pop, like the bubbling build of final track "Alexa Wait," rules the day. The transition between these musical palettes should be a jarring one, but there's a danceable groove that unites the two sides.
This is far more than a simple exercise in genre hopping. Improved production values, courtesy of Colin Stewart, give the material more room to breathe, exposing Tzenos as an underrated pop songwriter. Bafflingly, it was actually recorded before 2011's Hollandaze, although both records stem from the same bout of song writing. Hard Boiled Soft Boiled hits all the right notes while whetting the appetite for whatever Odonis Odonis have in store next. For now, you'd be hard pressed to imagine a better follow up to the band's debut.
Read an interview with Tzenos here.
