obLONG – EP 1

As I think I have said already, I strongly believe that every moment, situation, event or second in our lives has a soundtrack (never get tired of saying that, sorry), and obLONG has been the soundtrack of anger and inspiration to me.

I was lucky enough to get EP 1, which comprises 5 tracks full of stamina, dissatisfaction, powerful bass lines and drums, and a sharp guitar that would help the listener to keep on head banging. I must specially praise the vocalist, whose voice marks the edge of every song.

‘The Knife’ happens to be the first song and inspires obscure moods focused on nonconformity. I truly love the bass line in this one: self-containing, following guitars instead of drums, and that’s a style I’m truly in love with, as the counterpart or statement against another sound (or though, feeling, idea, you name it); just because there’s a brighter sound it doesn’t mean it has to take over the whole song.

‘Chaos Fact’ continues with this grayish atmosphere. Lyrics in a rhyme are the distinctive sign in this song. It’s rather interesting how all instruments may coincide in such a way that vocals (words) get all the power instead of other sounds floating in the air; it reminds me of the great (and yet underestimated) power words have-. Indeed!: they’re capable of changing the whole scenery from 1 second to another, almost as powerful as any Act of God, and this sensation remains through the whole black and white gamut. The theme of the song is the absence of sympathy among people. I remain in grey.

The penultimate song (‘Words’) really made me think of Ednaswap’s Stop Counting: a motorcycle type of effect that later joins the bass and drums, while the voice goes to and fro repeating “Don’t say any more words”. This will be THE “angry song” that would definitely help calming down our spirits: the “rocking” sensation this track delivers may work as a good “let-it-flow” thought.

Almost reaching the end of this EP and we come to ‘Boomerang’. I really loved the lyrics in this one since it’s basically about “what goes around comes around” in a creative way. The structure of this song would prove every band member really knows what they want from their instrument, that they’re always open to more experiments but have a strong and well founded start point.

If you didn’t think these four songs were powerful enough, then ‘I’m ready’ comes in the way: a challenging and let’s-cut-the-chase track, an injection of adrenaline to follow your own way. The fact that instruments may seem to reveal from each other, still they find their communion when the vocalist sings “I’m ready” really makes me fall for this track. I love that kind of balance.

There’re notes of freedom, love, despair, deceit, happiness, etc. We have in front of us a full gamut of colors to mix and experience with. obLONG seems to choose grey, black and white and still permeate their songs with signs of hope, lessons learnt and certain excitement for the unknown, all conveyed through an insanely gifted voice and independent sounds of guitar, drums and bass. The way all of these ingredients come together becomes an explosion, and the chips coming from that blast and touching our ears may become a positive thought to still follow your own way. Man, can music be that powerful!

Words: Tonan.

About the author: Tonan can be heard most Sundays at Anti-fama, a program dedicated to some of the best unknown (or lesser known) bands.

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