I Blame You

About

New York’s Obits were barely out of the starting gate when Sub Pop snagged them for a deal, and after a brilliant 7” single in 2008, the quartet’s debut full-length, <i>I Blame You</i>, hit the streets. It’s fair to slap a garage tag onto these guys right off the top, with Rick Froberg (Drive Like Jehu and Hot Snakes) and Sohrab Habibion (Edsel) delivering their lean ’n’ mean double guitar assault with gusto, up against nail-gun drums and occasional doses of reverb and vintage punk energy (“Widow of My Dreams” is especially redolent of New York circa 1978). Rather than simply going full-throttle garage-rock without easing up on the pedal (“Pine On,” “Talking to the Dog”), the Obits tinker with a varied toolbox: “Fake Kinkade” races with a Motorik-inspired pulse, “Two Headed Coin” and “I Blame You” percolate into foaming, surf-rock tunes, and “Light Sweet Crude” is scented with the pungent sweat of Iggy Pop. Their take on the well-worn classic “Milk Cow Blues” is muscular and foreboding, which is rather tidy way of summing up the whole thrilling collection.

via Apple Music

The Clerk says

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