The Hot Breath of Angels
A look at Hobble's new CD, "Gods
Work"
On the opening track of Hobble's
new CD, "Gods Work," lead singer and boy wunderkind
Oriah Lonsdale screams the lyric, "And just so you
know I will win at any cost" with the power and the
fire of a man determined to a climb the highest mountain
bare-handed. And for the next 30-plus minutes, he
proves his statement. This is a singer and a band
ready to take on all comers. This is a sonic force
to be reckoned with. This is Hobble at it biggest,
loudest, hottest and most aggressive. Amazingly, it
is also Hobble at their most relaxed, bright, poppy,
accessible and fun. "Gods Work" is an album that works!
A CD that finally provides the proof of the rock pudding
that Hobble can be just as much a dynamic force on
record as they can be live on stage.
It's probably no accident that the
CD's opening track is called "Go to Hell," Hobble
is a band that has consistently done things their
own way, regardless of what inept critics, stupid
music execs, or even their adoring fans have said.
This is a band that eschews popularity and commercialism
in favor of pure rock music played with no holes barred.
Rejecting the standard song construction of chorus,
verse and bridge, Hobble fires off rock anthems that
sometimes last less than a minute. "Go to Hell" clocks
in at just 27 seconds. The entire album, 18 songs
and a bonus track, barely fills 37 minutes. But it
is a half-hour of the most riotous, most rocking,
most joyous music you have ever heard.
With "Gods Work," Hobble furthers
their careers as Austin hottest band by providing
19 songs of sonic force that are as close to their
stage show as you can get without being there. Gone
are the dark overtones of "Blackmassking," and the
local band ethos of "Wreckids." Hobble has purged
themselves of their Seattle history and their Austin
hardships. They are simply here to rock and the CD
provides ample evidence, one showstopping minute after
another, of exactly what they are capable of.
From the first real "song" on the
album, "Truckin'," Oriah and his cohorts begin to
take recorded history by storm. Oriah's vocals are
bright and clear while Mike Flatten's guitar is just
dark enough to be resonant yet light enough to seem
post-post-punk. Oriah tells us in a voice loud and
clear that he has "been on the road a long time" and
he's "seen a lot of things." Flatten's guitar bubbles
under this declaration building to nearly an eruption
before Gene Longon's drums and Tom Balentine's bass
kick start the entire CD. From here on, the record
never stops rocking. Through fan faves like "Boxes,"
"Love Slut," "Cowboy Song," "78 Speed" and a plethora
of others, the band provides a fast paced, lively,
vibrant and valid statement confirming that they are
a group of incredible talent and immense charisma.
Oriah's lyrics have taken a turn
as well with the 19 songs here providing many ideas
about love, sexuality, existence, and religion. "Truckin'"
itself is a tinderbox of sexual frustration and paranoia,
a recurring theme on the record. On this first full
song on the CD, Oriah compares his intensity as a
driver of an 18 wheeler with his intensity as a lover
telling us that his "baby... likes to fuck all the
bad men" and providing a self-determination to satisfy
her lust in the same way he satisfies the demands
of keeping his truck moving on the road. This is a
man possessed and one who will not allow anyone to
lose their focus upon him. At the same time, the wild
abandon and the intensity of the song suggests that
all is not as in control as the singer would have
us believe. His truck, like his sexual life, is apparently
in danger of careening off the road at any moment.
Themes of sexual frustration and
problematic relationships will be the focus of several
songs on the CD including the sexually titillating
"Boxes" (where Oriah suggests the joy of being an
exhibitionist), the sexually liberating "Love Slut,"
the sexually pious "Gotta Get It Up," the sexually
confused "Cowboy Song" ("I used to be in movies back
when I was gay"), the sexually charged "Sally" (where
heterosexual molestation is suggested), and the sexually
submissive "78 Speed" (where Oriah wishes again only
to be the focus of desire). From a band that literally
had almost no songs of a sexual nature in their previous
material, Hobble, with Oriah's lyrics evolving in
nature, have turned into a band with a hard on for
hard rockin' sex. Once seemingly uncomfortable with
his cuteness and inherent sex appeal, Oriah has seemingly
suddenly become quite a cocksman. His vocals have
become playful and evocative rather than dark and
demented. Lyrically he's gone quite swiftly from demented
hermit to playful nipple pincher.
That's not to say that serious matters
don't also raise their head on "Gods Work." Second
only to Oriah's emerging sexual thrust is his continuing
interest in religion via the nature of the God/flock
dynamic. This idea emerges quickly on the album with
the third track, "Good Times" taking a rather typical
dynamic for Oriah's lyrical content. Here he promises
his followers that they are going to be "the chosen
ones" and that they are going to have the proverbial
and titular "real good time." This idea, however,
takes on a more sexual nature, as is indicative of
the rest of the record. Oriah tells us that he is
going to show us "a whole lotta love" and also show
us that he is "our God above." The nature of our relationship,
however, isn't just the simple and expected loving
relationship between God and servant because the sexual
implication here is that we are also his submissive
and his to do with (sexually) as he pleases. Oriah
the God of Cock is revealed.
In "Gotta Get It Up" Oriah again
mixes sexuality with deity by proclaiming to the listener
that he will "bring you rivers" and "bring you slaves"
in order to satisfy his devoted. As our sexual God,
he will also bring us "up on the stage" to be saved,
presumably by his megalomaniacal cock once again.
And in the CD's final discussion of such matters,
"Jim Jones," Oriah finally simply makes his "hero"
and mentor clear to us. Instead of Kool-Aid, however,
we presume Oriah has other, more intimate, liquids
in mind for us to imbibe in "his" name. Communion
has never seemed more exciting.
Now, such matters may seem distasteful
and even somewhat typical to the average rock fan.
After all, lead singer as God incarnate is not exactly
a foreign notion to rock fans. But Oriah's intent
here actually seems much more playful and questioning
than the average rock God. Oriah isn't necessarily
calling us to be his flock and to worship his rock
cock. In reality, he wants us to question the very
nature of worship and piety. As a lapsed Mormon, Oriah's
wont to explore religion and question existence is
simply manifested in these songs. It is only his commanding
presence at the front of Hobble that makes the words
take on the air of conviction and instruction.
Backed as always by the finest and
tightest band in Austin, Oriah takes Hobble up to
the next level of the band's dominance. Surely the
rhythm section of Tom and Gene are what make everything
work. These guys never falter in their powerful backing
of Oriah and his ideal. And one cannot dismiss the
stunning musicianship and inventiveness of Mike Flatten's
guitar.
Not only does Flatten provide the
punch that knocks Oriah into the spotlight, but he
is even more unselfish in his work. Hobble is a band
that believes in simply knocking out tunes and forcing
their audience to pay attention at every second. Flatten
never indulges in guitar solos, pretentious or otherwise,
and his work makes the band seem one of the most hard
rocking and powerful in Texas. Flatten underlines
every song with a magical bed of sonic roses that
consistently elevate the songs to perfection. Even
when seemingly simply strumming (as on "Cowboy Song")
or purging the last ounce of Seattle grunge from his
soul (as on "Good Time"), Flatten provides the vein
on which the heart of Hobble relies to pump its rock-blood-flow.
"Gods Work" isn't just the best
album by Hobble yet. It isn't simply just a CD that
proves how vibrant and rocking Hobble's live shows
can be. Nor is it primarily a CD to get the band noticed
by the labels as a commercial entity. "Gods Work"
is all this and more. It is, quite simply, the best
CD you will hear this year.
Notes:
Like information on getting the
Hobble CD, e-mail me at lodger@filethirteen.com
For my take on the Hobble CD Release
Show at Room 710 on 9/27, check out the new Notes
from Austin
Lodger2003
