Obits

Obits are a killer, surf-y garage rock entity renowned for tightly coiled blasts of observational incredulity. However, for their third full-length for Sub Pop, the Brooklyn, NY band have loosened up a great deal. Opting to record in engineer Nikhil Ranade's DC apartment, which is situated above a bar, the casual creative atmosphere inspired "new for them" ideas (i.e., acoustic guitar, fleshing practice recordings out with overdubs, harmonica, etc.) and that informal risk bleeds through in refreshing ways. Take guitarist/vocalist Rick Froberg's maniacal laugh at the beginning of "Taste the Diff," a moment of captured happenstance, after bassist Greg Simpson cracked him up during his jagged vocal take. The song itself stems from a joke ad slogan the band came up with during a practice and, because they trust each other, they show off these experiments, like Froberg's affected ghoul vocals on "It's Sick." Bed & Bugs finds one of America's mightiest, smartest rock bands playing at peak power, challenging themselves and conveying the ragged glory of camaraderie.