Oneida: Preteen Weaponry (Jagjaguwar)
Oneida’s Preteen Weaponry is both a stand-alone piece and the beginning of a larger triptych to be known collectively as “Thank Your Parents.”
In a divergence from the song-oriented structures of The Wedding and Happy New Year, the tracks here are an accurate representation of the band’s live shows, where a single thought or riff may be extended into something beyond recognition.
Recorded in one day with “Oneida members past, present, and future,” there are three distinct movements, each based around a solitary idea that then grows to colossal proportions out of improvisation.
The first track features some nimble drumming from Kid Millions — basically, a long drum fill over the top of looped keyboard and guitar parts. The song sucks you in with its hypnotic repetition and sets the stage for the following two tracks.
The second is a slower song where the simple, stolid drums take a backseat to waves of distorted, slow-flanged keyboards and heavily effected guitar. It is the only song with vocals, although they are nearly too translucent to understand.
The song begins and ends with noise, bleeding the three arrangements together. The closing passage takes a vaguely motorik drumbeat and runs the high-hat through a gate, clipping and punching holes in its continuity.
This is then surrounded by plinks and pops of seemingly random sounds and reverb attacks. Although the drumming sounds incredible, the rest of the piece doesn’t seem to be as well conceived, however improvisational, as the first two tracks are.
As a studio document of what Oneida does live, Preteen Weaponry shows the band flexing its space-rock muscles in a controlled setting. If this is the first part of a continuing series, then there is much to anticipate for the rest of the series.
– Nate Daly
Oneida: www.enemyhogs.com
Jagjaguwar: www.jagjaguwar.com