One of Toronto's noisiest bands, Odonis Odonis, return with their sophomore album

and it's a tale of two halves...

Odonis Odonis - Hard Boiled Soft Boiled (Out 15/04/2014)

I have been searching for a new band to fall in love with for ages. The problem is, I know exactly what I want so it’s like shopping for an outfit when you have something specific in mind; you never f*cking find it. What am I shopping for? Basically, something a lot like my favourite bands but fresher. I want the riffy bass and angular chords of McLusky, the art-punk vibe of Les Savy Fav, the earnest vocals of Modest Mouse, the cool disco beats of Death From Above. Oh, and I want there to be some women involved because that doesn’t happen nearly enough. Answers on a post card please. Basically, my point was that the press release for this band said “for fans of: McLusky, Lightning Bolt or The Dismemberment Plan” and I thought “hey, that’s me. I am a fan of those bands!” Expectations: set to high. I have to say, that’s a pretty accurate description. This is my first experience of Odonis Odonis so if I had to unbiasedly describe them based on this record then I would say that they are delightfully raucous, blending noise-rock, shoe gaze and bedlam in to an excitingly multi-dimensional sound. So, it turns out that ‘Soft Boiled Hard Boiled’ is pretty much the perfect album name. Firstly, it continues in the theme seemingly set before its arrival, as it’s the follow up to the bands 2011’s debut
‘Hollandaze’ (hollandaise sauce is the typical accompaniment to poached eggs, I’m sure I don’t have to explain myself here).  But as well as that, the record has a bipolar sound; some of the songs such as ‘Are We Friends’ and ‘Order In The Court’ (my personal favourite track, reminiscent of ‘Girl O’Clock’-esque Dismemberment Plan) are hardened with pounding bass, heavy distorted guitars and chaos within them whereas others like ‘High Note’ and ‘Alexa Wait’ are somewhat softer, calling more upon the calmer shoe-gaze/surfer rock elements of the band. This personality split was no accident; the band wanted to create a record that was “embracing vinyl and appealing to the strengths of the form by having two complementary, but distinct sides.” Whilst I prefer the harder songs on the record, I really think the dynamics at play work well here; I’m not keen when an album is all one tempo and find it monotonous, so the mix of style and pace here really adds something of interest to the record. Recorded in just three weeks with Colin Stewart (Black Mountain, Pretty Girls Make Graves), ‘Hard Boiled Soft Boiled’ is an interesting and enjoyable sophomore album for fans of interesting, boisterous rock. I really enjoyed this record and no doubt will return to enjoy it over and over again. It hasn’t quite put Odonis Odonis up there with my favourites or ticked every box in my “desperately seeking” list, but I will never say no to a new band who aren’t scared of their distortion pedals or imagination.
CLICK HERE to read our new artist of the day article for them. 8/10
www.odonisodonis.com http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z66prOj0tw&feature=share&list=PL1jT4FseS1FHPE1RoEY7mjFTNRJCvyHx4  

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