On Disc

Oneida: Rated O

JAGJAGUWAR/BRAH

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BY Chris Bilton   June 30, 2009 21:06

Editorial Rating:

It’s appropriate that the most hyped release from Brooklyn’s indefinable trio Oneida is a triple-disc epic clocking in at almost 110 minutes. After all, their breakthrough album, Each One Teach One, consisted of two discs’ worth of psych-punk jams, led by the sprawling “Sheets of Easter.” The band have since explored the sonics of homemade string instruments (on The Wedding), hypnotic grooves at extreme speeds (Happy New Year’s “Up With People” and Secret Wars’ “Caesar’s Column”) and dabbled more than occasionally with lost-plot weirdness.

Fulfilling part two of their ambitious “Thank Your Parents” triptych, Rated O taps into the most intriguing tangents of O’s oeuvre. Disc C’s extended jams veer close to last year’s Preteen Weaponry, while Disc A flirts with Eastern-tinged electronica reminiscent of recent Gang Gang Dance (especially on “Brownout in Lagos” and “What’s Up, Jackal?”). But it’s Disc B that really delivers classic Oneida. Kid Millions’ entrancing beats and Fat Bobby’s syncopated organ spasms play havoc with your equilibrium on tracks like “Ghost in the Room” and “The River.” Sure, it’s overblown, but Rated O is engrossing nonetheless, which is a testament to Oneida’s inexhaustible creativity.

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