O'Brother - Garden Window

I stumbled (literally) across O’Brother around two years ago at a house party on Illinois State University’s campus.  Someone took over the stereo and started playing “Malum”, the first track off of Garden Window.  30 seconds in and I was hooked, not to mention introducing myself and asking what awesome band was being played.  A few months later after countless listen throughs, I saw them open for Manchester Orchestra.  Long story short, O’Brother SLAYS live.  Even if the music isn’t really your thing, a show is worth the effort and investment. Trust me.

Released in 2011, the first thing that really stood out about Garden Window was how heavy it is.  Now, I’m not implying heavy metal, more in terms of the density and impact every track seems to carry.  “Malum,” the album opener, establishes right out of the gate that for the next hour or so of your life, a cryptic and sludgy wall of sound will be washing over you.  Opened by Merritt’s lyrical question “How great is my debt that my penance should be endless? Lo, my eager eyes will behold the truth”, Garden Window is a markedly dark record, one full of religious skepticism and existential questions.  On “Last Breath”, the album closer and ‘anti’-”Malum,” looks back to the original question, implying that seeking an answer only creates more questions, “So if god is an acronym, some giver of damnation, then why even bother with the concept of man?”

Musically, O’Brother explores a variety of territory, but generally stays within the boundaries of post rock/metal.  That said, they aren't at all afraid to explore song structure and lengthy arrangements; “Cleanse Me” clocks in at just short of 14 minutes.  Listening to this album leaves one with the feeling that the band spent considerable time working on the continuity of these 11 tracks.  Each track builds off of the others, and the result is a release that feels truly complete.  For example, “Lo” re-purposes the vocal melody from “Malum” and reorients it into a semi-standard rock song.  “Poison” starts at a mellow pace, building gradually as a lead-in to “Lay Down”, a truly massive and epic song.  Further, “Machine Pt. I” and “Machine Pt. II” are so well connected that my musician’s intuition suggests their having started as a single song, serving to build intensity one last time before the last few tracks close the record.

Anton Dang, bassist, truly drives a large portion of Garden Window.  At times he branches far out of the norm, using a bow on his bass ala Jimmy Page’s famous guitar technique.  Michael Martins’ drumming is interesting as well, he’s generally a player that seldom breaks out of the pocket, but his building rhythms on “Malum” and “Poison” are some of my favorite moments on the record.

Believe it or not, Garden Window is O’Brother’s full-length debut.  It sure doesn’t sound like it, as they've taken all of their different influences and blended them in a totally unique way.  I've never heard a band that sounds quite like O’Brother, and doubt I ever will again.  This album stands alone in recent years in terms of originality and in my opinion, should be elevated into the realm of future classics.  It’s unique, powerful, and cohesive, and I can’t wait to hear what the band does next!

Below is the first track off of Garden Window, “Malum”.  Enjoy!