ALBUM REVIEW: O’Brother – Garden Window

O’Brother
Garden Window
[Triple Crown Records/Favorite Gentlemen, 2011]

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If The Death of Day made anything certain it was that O’Brother wouldn’t be caged. On their debut EP, the Atlanta quintet’s sprawling alt-rock compositions exposed a tendency towards the dense and experimental, incorporating elements of metal, post-rock, sludge and ambient indie rock within markedly complex arrangements. For a young band just getting their start it was a bold statement, one that established O’Brother as not only a band to watch, but also one willing to take risks in pursuit of more elaborate and weighty ideas.

On Garden Window, those risks have only grown darker and heavier. From the first bludgeoning strains of the album’s opener, “Malum,” it’s clear that the band is intent on constructing something massive and primordial, a lumbering behemoth driven by towering riffs, turgid dissonance and Tanner Merritt’s brooding vocals.

And for the most part they succeed. Garden Window is nothing if not an impressive step forward, an hour-long musical excursion that vacillates between eerie, well-textured atmosphere and huge, monolithic slabs of gritty Southern sludge. Producers Andy Hull and Robert McDowell of labelmates Manchester Orchestra have managed to extract a sound that is polished without losing any of the dirt and grime that makes this collection of songs so potent. Even better is the way the band couches their volcanic eruptions with strong hooks. For all their love of moody bombast and epic song structures, O’Brother’s primary strength seems to lie in their ability to ground their grand gestures in melodies both interesting and infectious. Their songs are heavy, but they’re never oppressive. They’re intricate, but also remarkably memorable.

To be sure, the Thrice influence felt so predominantly on The Death of Day continues to linger, but while Dustin Kensrue and company have seemed content to focus almost exclusively on high-energy, hard-charging alt rock anthems over their last two albums, O’Brother are not afraid to take a more exploratory approach. Yes, Garden Window has it’s share of bangers (“Lo,” “Sputnik” and “Machines Part I” come to mind) whose presence remain jarring and immediate, but it’s the more expansive moments contained in songs like “Poison!,” “Lay Down” and, especially, “Cleanse Me” that helps maintain the sense of thematic cohesion that sets the group’s music apart from the majority of their contemporaries.

If I were to find fault with anything on this album, it would be its occasional tendency to wallow and drift. Sixty minutes is a lot of time to fill and there are a few lulls here that drag and disrupt the record’s otherwise well-measured pace. But that’s just nitpicking. O’Brother cover a wide sonic spectrum here, and they manage to do so in a way that feels intelligent and unified. That’s no easy feat to pull off. But while the band’s considerable dynamic range and cerebral inclinations may help set it apart, I can’t deny being drawn in more by its howling, tempestuous aggression. Garden Window may be smart, and it’s certainly thought-provoking, but it’s the record’s blood-and-guts vitality that will keep me coming back for more.

More Info:
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