Oh, Hot Snakes, I miss you. Why did you have to set the bar so high? The two men that made Hot Snakes so awesome (and Drive Like Jehu as well) have of course gone their different ways and formed separate bands. John Reis formed The Night Marchers and Rick Froberg has now christened Obits. As much as Reis’ Night Marchers felt like a let down it’s hard not to feel slightly the same way about Froberg’s first project. The two projects mirror each other in the fact that they sound like what you might expect but for whatever reason the songs just aren’t quite there yet.
On I Blame You it is when Obits depart from Froberg’s patented sound that things really catch your attention. “Light Sweet Crude” breathes rustic atmospheres comparable to the great Constantines. “Run” is an awesome song that combines an almost new wave flare to Froberg’s patented guitar garage rock attack. Quite a few of these tracks showcase Froberg’s most accessible song writing yet. Unfortunately the album is uneven and runs a bit too long which tends to kill the band’s momentum just when it starts. Let’s hope on their sophomore record the band doesn’t take the foot off the pedal so much.
Label: Sub Pop
