Buzz
When Toronto’s Odonis Odonis released their debut album Hollandaze in late 2011 the plan was to follow it up immediately in early 2012. Two years later and we’re finally able to hear what the raucous trio were able to do at The Hive in B.C. with Colin Stewart.
Conceived with the vinyl format in mind the title explains everything: the A-side is “hard boiled” while the B-side is “soft boiled.” That may seem like a concept that prevents enjoying this album as a whole but that’s not the case.
Hard Boiled comes storming out of the gates with the dirty industrial slammers “Are We Friends” and “New Obsession” while continuing their Mclusky-style freak-outs on “Order in the Court.” Flip it over to Soft Boiled and it’s a night-to-day transformation taking things down with fuzz-plastered dream pop. Kathryn Calder’s vocals on “High Note” are a nice contrast to the heavy BPM shoegaze of “Angus Mountain.” They even flirt with sublime ambient noise on “Transmissions From the Moon.”
One of the best things about HBSB is how well it works as a whole but also separately. It’s just as effective when treated like two EPs or played in reverse. Who knows if that was the intention but either way it’s fun to enjoy an album multiple ways.
