Been Obscene - Night O' Mine

This is exactly why I love the Ripple Effect so much.

Chances are, I would have never heard the second album by Been Obscene if Racer hadn't sent to me. I couldn't be more tickled that he did and I'm even happier that it's an actual cd. Night O' Mine is an extremely unique medley of fantastic rock music, accompanied by awesome vocals. The Austrian alt/psych foursome play incredibly memorable tunes that will burrow in your head and stay there.

I think the first track is especially infectious and it completely draws me in to the misty, atmospheric world of Been Obscene. I feel naughty. The past couple weeks at work I've repeatedly caught myself singing verses from "Endless Scheme".

"Waiting for the morning light, but you don't dare to go...Drift into the innocence, but you don't care at all..."

I'm not singing too loud...but still.  This one has stuck with me like a venereal disease and I don't know when or if I'll ever shake it. Not that I really want to. The warm, fuzzy guitar notes and tones instantly remind me of my all-time favorite band, Kyuss. The grooves are hypnotic and the hooks grab me and lift me up to heights that I haven't been to in a while.

"Snake Charmer" follows lightly for the first three minutes, before the tempo shifts dramatically into a heavy, head-bobbing groove and then a trippy, heavy-psych breakdown. Another killer song, "Cut The Rope", could be compared more to QOTSA, in my opinion. Josh Homme has been an obvious influence on the guitars in Been Obscene, and I love that about them.

The title track is one of the heaviest and grooviest on Night O' Mine, even though it has plenty of tempo shifts. It starts furiously, with bashing drums and driving bass, and the guitars are crushing. While a lot of the song is instrumental, I still think the sparse vocals are some of the best on the album.

On the sixth, "The Run", Been Obscene surprise me yet again. They've made a habit of that. You'd think I'd know by now that they really know what they're doing. A comfortable beginning to a cool desert evening, almost too light for me, but delves into the heavy Kyuss realm about haflway through. Did I say awesome vocals yet?

"Memories in Salvation" is the lone instrumental track and it's friggin' beautiful and moving, which can also be said as "Alone" begins. Touching, too. I think I've said this plenty in my reviews, but the last is often the greatest for me. I won't say this one is heavy at all, it's not, but the music moves me and that's all that really matters. Can it touch my emotions? Yes, it can and it did.

I'm so amazed that I don't even notice that the cd is still playing, long after "Alone" has ended. I'm still wondering why the hell I hadn't heard anything from this band before. I have to wait until the 17:11 mark before I get to hear the bit of hidden music. Cool. I won't spoil it for you but I'll just say there's some piano.

Discovering fresh and talented rock bands like Been Obscene is what it's all about for me. I can't get the songs on Night O' Mine out of my head and I'll bet that once you listen to them, you won't be able to either.

Check the Been Obscene Bandcamp stream, listen to the whole album and then buy a digital copy. Light the band's website up for physical needs.

--Heddbuzz

http://www.beenobscene.com/
http://beenobscene.bandcamp.com/album/night-omine?permalink
https://www.facebook.com/beenobscene