Obits

Obits

Obits: Nonchalant Rock ‘n’ Roll

Chicago-based Obits has an impressive pedigree (Hot Snakes, Drive Like Jehu), but these days its members are just playing to have fun, hoping that people dig their “crappy rock band.”

Obits

Record Review: Obits’ Moody, Standard and Poor

Obits: Moody, Standard and PoorObits: Moody, Standard and Poor (Sub Pop, 3/29/11)

Obits: “Shift Operator”

[audio:https://alarm-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/8676.mp3|titles=Obits: “Shift Operator”]

Few bands have had their first live shows bootlegged by fans. But when Obits‘ January 12, 2008 gig at the Cake Shop in New York City leaked on the Internet, few were surprised. Followers of Rick Froberg‘s previous bands, Drive Like Jehu and Hot Snakes, had been anxiously awaiting his new partnership with Sohrab Habibion, of Washington, DC-based Edsel, since the band began writing and rehearsing together in 2006.

After a fan leaked the lo-fi recordings, things moved quickly for the Brooklyn-based indie rockers. Obits posted two of the songs to its MySpace page, was subsequently signed to Sub Pop in late 2008, and released its first record, I Blame You, in March of 2009.

Its follow-up album, Moody, Standard and Poor, finds Obits further honing its gutsy blend of melodic garage punk without sacrificing the energy that defined its first release.

The Thermals

The Thermals’ favorite current records

The Thermals: “I Don’t Believe You” (Personal Life, KRS, 9/7/10)

The Thermals – I Don’t Believe You

We asked The Thermals, the Portland pop-punk power trio, to name a few of its favorite recent releases. The band’s drummer, Westin Glass, responded with a list of five records that ranges from radio-friendly pop to an independent artist that calls himself the “black Bob Dylan.” Whether or not you share Glass’ taste, you can appreciate his sentiment that some music exists to help you laugh and get laid.

Jason DeRulo1. Jason DeRulo: s/t (Beluga Heights [Warner Brothers], 2010)

This one may be hard to swallow for you indie-rock fans — but I assure you, it’s worth it. Definitely a “singles” record, with three mega smash hits on Top 40 radio. I first heard Jason DeRulo‘s track “Whatcha Say” blasting on the one working speaker in my friend’s car last year and immediately loved it. The digitally distressed Imogen Heap sample in that song makes for the most memorable hook of 2009.

I also love “Ridin’ Solo,” a great post-breakup, self-psych-up song. Jason DeRulo knows how to make a fucking hit — a bubble-gummy blast of ear sugar that will lighten your mood and get stuck in your head. Speaking of which, his track “In My Head” is stuck in my head right now.