Oh No! Oh My! - I Love You All the Time

I keep hearing about how Oh No! Oh My! is over already, which is disappointing, because I just heard their album for the first time a couple weeks ago, and I think it's quite good. There are some really pleasing spots of music on there, even if the whole thing isn't the life-altering triumph that the apparently ancient hype would have indicated. So if the backlash just happened, hopefully this will begin the trend of relash. Or something.

A writer for Stylus said that the opening of "I Love You All the Time" is the only indication on the album that ON!OM! has a "backbone," I guess because the drum machine and synth pattern comes across so authoritatively against the rest of the album, bearing a handmade feel. But for my money, the greatness comes exactly AFTER this drum machine intro. A ragged army of furious accoustic guitar strummers races into the scene. The muscular nature of the part makes it hard for all the players to keep the frantic pace, which dips, although the human error makes you conscious of the frantic mood (I respect metal guitarists and all, but have you ever perfectly executed anything at all while feeling very angry? This is why I zone out a lot of "heavy music" - because of the boring calmness that leads to the highly revered flawless performances. Anyway). The singer belts his simple lyrics as best he can, doubled with an effective higher harmony, and after every three lines, our guitar team looks down at fretboards making sure their clumsy fingers are in the right places during the "riff" section, before attacking again with more down strokes. It's a really gripping and effective moment for people like me, who will never understand metal.