ONEIDA have always been (and continue to be) essentially abstract hard rockers, but I can’t think of many other groups that’ve made such a virtue of self-reinvention. I’m tempted to call the new The Wedding (Jagjaguwar) their best, but that wouldn’t be responsible–each new phase of this Brooklyn band’s career has provoked superlatives from me, and their previous record, the Krautrock opus Secret Wars, is just as good on its own terms. This time the group adds an unprecedented note of vulnerability to its noisy, aggressive sound, using sparse string arrangements (by Brian Coughlin of the Fireworks New Music Ensemble) and delicate vocal harmonies. “The Eiger” is just voice and strings, while “August Morning Haze” adds electric piano, guitar, and what sounds like hammer dulcimer. Descending long tones in the vocals enhance the drone at the core of “Spirits,” which sounds like a lost Velvet Underground tune, and the fragile “Run Through My Hair” glistens with tight, complex contrapuntal singing. Thankfully Oneida hang on to their sense of humor through all this experimentation–the lyrics are still goofy non sequiturs delivered sideways–and they always know when to keep it simple and ride a groove into the sunset.
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Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photo/Juli Werner.
