Odonis Odonis is a Toronto-based post-punk trio, and their new Hard Boiled Soft Boiled LP, out today on Buzz Records, delivers 12-tracks of seductively dark, sonically charged noise pop. Recorded by the esteemed Canadian engineer and producer Colin Stewart (The New Pornographers, Black Mountaintops, The Cave Singers, etc.), at his studio The Hive Creative Labs, the album’s two sides alternate between “Tension” and “Release“, as evidenced by the title of each side’s introductory track; and while that might offer a means by which Odonis Odonis can manage their industrial impulses against their more dream-pop leanings, the results are intense, sometimes brutal, and often beautiful in a way that demands to be listened to!
Side A is epitomized by the standout “Are We Friends“, and it kicks the record off with the obliterating thud of giant, mechanized drums, before adding the prowl and leer of a grunged-out bass-line, while singer Dean Tzenos hashes out sexual politics for the young, urban bohemian set. The tension grows on “Order In the Court“, which sounds something like The Locust scraping with Genghis Tron, as tangles of fried electronics and hyper-speed thrash reach a manic pitch, which the band matches with their equally hysterical vocal outbursts! When Odonis Odonis begins to blend it’s alternate sonic impulses, the more industrial against the dream-pop, the result is the dark, electric beauty of “New Obsession“, which is built around another killer bass-line from Denholm Whale, and it buzzes with scuzz and grit, before this track takes off for impressive and scorching heights. The final two cuts on the front side continue in the direction of grafting the band’s charged impulses with the blissed and dreamy, and in doing so they show off their love for early 80’s indie pop, such that “Breathing Hard” is bathed in Psychocandy-era hiss and feedback, while Tzenos’ more Romantic vocal delivery on “Mr Smith” seems reminiscent of The Cure‘s own Mr. Smith.
“Release” begins the B-side with a more spacey swirl than “Tension”‘s initial alarming crescendo, and by the time we reach “Angus Mountain“, the industrial menace of “Are We Friends” or the metal-like clangor of “Order In the Court” has been subsumed into glittering dream-pop tones. Seductive and full of pathos, this more laid-back and pop driven approach results in the languorous “Office Sluts“, 90’s-era radio gem “High Note“, which also finds Tzenos sharing vocal duties with The New Pornographers’ Kathryn Calder, as well as the gently ascending lunar ambience of “Alexa Wait“.
Below, you can stream Hard Boiled Soft Boiled in it’s entirety via the Bandcamp embed, as well as checking out the band’s new video for “High Note”, and their amazing, Hieronymus Bosch inspired animations for “Order In the Court“. Odonis Odonis is currently on a short live tour of the US, but before they wrap it up they will head off to Europe and the UK for select dates, before heading home to Toronto. Don’t miss the dates below!
Odonis Odonis Live April-June 2014:
Apr.16 Durham, NC, The Pinhook
Apr.18 Athens, GA, World Famous
Apr.19 Atlanta, GA, Mammal Gallery
Apr.20 Baton Rouge, LA, Mud and Water
Apr.21 Austin, TX, Mohawk (Inside)
Apr.22 Dallas, TX, Club Dada
Apr.23 Little Rock, AR, Vino’s
Apr.25 Chicago, IL, Bottom Lounge
May.22 Liege, BEL, MAD Cafe
May.23 Nantes, FRA, Stereolux
May.25 Brighton, UK, The Hope
May.26 Manchester, UK, Soup Kitchen
May.27 London, UK, Birthdays
May.31 Haarlem, HOL, Patronaat
Jun.13-22 Toronto, ON, NXNE
