’Happy New Year’ is kinda like that obstacle course you always played on as a kid; there was always that one section that no matter how hard you tried you just couldn’t do; scaling the wall, reaching the last monkey bar, convincing yourself that leaping off the rope swing at its highest point was a good idea; and all for the relatively simple reward of unbroken limbs and some solid ground beneath your feet. We doubt Oneida had this in mind when they made the album because there is little solid or cohesive about ‘Happy New Year’ although it must’ve been pretty fun. Plunging into the album you’re faced with an eclectic, teetering and decidedly unhinged collection of psychedelic, intricate tracks that sees the ground constantly shift.
Title track ‘Happy New Year’ bears a resemblance to King Biscuit Time as it squirms with understated direction as an uncanny Steve Mason-esque vocal adds a subtle touch whilst ’The Adversary’ with the playfully endless nature of the Arcade Fire rolls and buzzes to an inauspicious end. ’Up With The People’ changes tempo, style and genre with it’s innocuous scratched rhythm and electro funk percussion The Rapture characterized. It’s an unbridled, raw seven minutes of grating guitar interludes, sporadic vocals and filthy keyboard and although it tires easily (around the three minute mark) it does provide a cunning change of pace. ’History’s Great Navigators’ with it’s chillingly minimal guitar pick rhythm, incessant, blank eyed piano and barren vocals is enough to send an unnerving shiver coursing through body and will probably leave you a little nervous.
What is noticeable is that Oneida as ingenious as they’re aspiring to be lack a distinctive presence and that probably goes a long way to explaining why they’ve remained on the indie periphery for as long as they have. The vocals are redundant and meaningless for the most part and there is little happening individually to endear you to them. However, collectively and on tracks like ‘Up With The People’ they raise their game but the unsettled nature of the album becomes a little frustrating. After the lively electronic pulse of the first few songs it takes a downturn in tempo with ‘Busy Little Bee’; a song that could have been played in any castle courtyard x amount of years ago whilst the vocal flicker and tentative guitar of ‘The Reckoning’ and nice vocal harmonies on ‘Thank Your Parents’ showcase all too fleeting examples of what Oneida are capable of but it seems they’ll need a new resolution.
Think the valium induced rock of Black Mountain combining with 60’s pop harmonies and the sedated splendour of some of the 70’s finest psychedelic acts and Oneida’s grounding is an exciting one. That they don’t draw on any one of these definitively is the main problem and one that continues to plague them.
What is noticeable is that Oneida as ingenious as they’re aspiring to be lack a distinctive presence and that probably goes a long way to explaining why they’ve remained on the indie periphery for as long as they have. The vocals are redundant and meaningless for the most part and there is little happening individually to endear you to them. However, collectively and on tracks like ‘Up With The People’ they raise their game but the unsettled nature of the album becomes a little frustrating. After the lively electronic pulse of the first few songs it takes a downturn in tempo with ‘Busy Little Bee’; a song that could have been played in any castle courtyard x amount of years ago whilst the vocal flicker and tentative guitar of ‘The Reckoning’ and nice vocal harmonies on ‘Thank Your Parents’ showcase all too fleeting examples of what Oneida are capable of but it seems they’ll need a new resolution.
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