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OOIOO, "Armonico Hewa"
Pure wildness is a difficult aesthetic to grasp. In rock, attempts to evoke it often devolve into tribal kitsch. On their sixth album, OOIOO negotiates that subtle distinction with skill and integrity. Despite some lapses into tedium, the band remains impressive, both in natural musicianship and in the complete absurdity of their art. Armonico Hewa satisfies and frustrates in equal measure and ends up succeeding by blurring the difference.
 
Superficially, OOIOO is not a particularly difficult band.Yet their music is enough to drive many listeners away, even fans of the band’s parent group, Boredoms. Perhaps the answer lies in the perverse way the band forms their songs. Most often they’re built on extreme repetition. Groups from Neu! to Stereolab to Boredoms themselves use the same method but OOIOO differs because their riffs aren’t meant to sooth. Listening to them is a kind of anti-hypnosis.In "Uda Ha," a shrieking tone emerges mid-song, goading it forward, as if a fire alarm had gone off in-studio.Yet the band will not move on, working the effect until all novelty is bled from it, and not stopping a moment sooner.As they stack chords on top of chords, the song becomes charged with a precarious tension. Each new repetition threatens to spoil the it, but that never quite happens. When change finally arrives, it bursts forth like air from a slashed tire.
Sometimes repetition is more a burden than an asset, especially with the band’s vocals.Armonico Hewa is saturated with sub-lingual chatter.The band gasps, chants, and babbles, throughout the entire album.Sustained over the course of a six-minute song, it can be exhausting.In "Irorun," they prolong a series of hoots and gurgles until it becomes torturous.Relief seemly comes when the song ends, but that it is short-lived, and the band reprises the vocal pattern in the following song, "Konjo."Either OOIOO must delight in tormenting their audience, or sheer endurance must be its own reward for them. Both tropes cease to be novel very quickly. Coordination and stamina should be lauded, but more restraint is needed to really show-off the band’s talents.
But what OOIOO lacks in restraint, they easily recoup in adventurousness. In Armonico Hewa, it’s possible to hear everything from Acid Jazz to Balinese monkey chants. Even the title is eclectic, the phrase being a Spanish-Swahili hybrid meaning "harmonious air." Those who stew themselves in culture theory might find this influence raiding questionable, but OOIOO has a refreshing lack of obvious method. In other words, they defy easy analysis. Multiple influences are plausible for any given song. They could take as much from Taiko drumming as they could from Afro-beat, but ultimately the music might come from none of those sources. OOIOO easily evade being boxed in with their influences. Modern rock is saturated with artists who aggressively proclaim their influences. At this level, appreciation for "world music" tends devolve into collegiate irony or backpacker mysticism. Thankfully, OOIOO create such a singular racket that it renders concerns about appropriation purely academic.
Despite their flexibility, OOIOO seem caught between two audiences. On one hand, their virtuosity and bright, colorful sound falls somewhere within rock music. On the other, their awkward rhythms, nonsense vocals, and excessive minimalism nudge the band towards the avant-garde. They present a radical compromise that provokes both crowds. This is a good thing. Too many bands aim to incite audiences by affecting some insular aesthetic. OOIOO incite because they are bold and vibrant, which is infinitely more charming.
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