OOIOO – taiga

(CD, thrill jockey)

I know that there are still a lot of people nostalgically dreaming of the effect the high chaos implosion of The Boredom’s early works had on them and who now shun their new recordings because of their more trance (the mental state of mind not the techno style, of course) oriented inclination. Those will also not be satisfied with the new album of Ooioo, the bandproject of Yoshimi P-we, who was one half of The Boredom’s next to the living grenade Yamatsuka Eye. They won’t be satisfied because there are a lot of elements that are noise-rockish, in a way, but there is also a lot of elements that lead down deeper into more ancient and submental places. Like modernisations of folkloristic Japanese harmonies, chanting or the inclusion of tribal percussions and instruments or like washes of noise reminding of waves on the beach (a hint at the latest “seadrum”-experience of The Boredom’s). Anyway, if nostalgic dreamers are satisfied or not can’t be a criteria for any true artist, or he would have to start to repeat him/herself endlessly. I only have one advise for those people: get on with it. The artist has done so as well.

Once again Ooioo have turned their style around in a new way. The three-letter in versalias song titles hint at a more structural compositoral approach, or is it just new wave poppy noodling that remains static rather than flow into outer space at unexpected moments? This way Ooioo have come closer to the homecooking pop-song approach of, let’s say, Pram, than ever before. Gone are the minimalism and electronic focus of the early albums as well as the chaos and psychosis of the two albums before “taiga”. There is still the odd scream or outburst here and there, the mix of instruments and licks is eclectic and original to say the least, but it is as close to an album full of pop-songs as Yoshimi will possibly ever come. Please take these pop-song references in relation to where the artist comes from, not in relation to what is usually considered pop-songs.

For some reason, the music of Ooioo on “taiga” always makes me think of mist slowly moving through a deep wood overgrown and idyllic. Even a mid-Eighties new wave clasher like “ATS” (this abbreviation used to stand for the Austrian currency, the Schilling, before the Euro came… more nostalgia on the way) cannot disturb this image. I don’t know where it comes from but this peaceful image arises. Even counting in the monkey-shrieks of “SAI” or the take no prisoners approach to the basic formula, there is always an emotionality and a sensibility surrounding the music of Ooioo that was amiss with The Boredoms. And also with the female artists want to behave like rock stars Free Kitten-band. Maybe it is the feminine character of their recordings, or maybe that is just a cliché, but in spite of all its dangers, traps and potholes Ooioo are a friendly and approachable band.

I wonder where that comes from, because the banging and clashing “UMO” has almost no receptors for such a judgement, except maybe for the flute solo in the middle of it. Maybe it is the little things that make Ooioo so cuddly and friendly even, or especially, when they try to be angry and wild. (I guess I’ll also go and work on my cultural prejudices for an hour or two now.) It is the mix of chaos and playfulness, of cuteness and danger that makes for a lot of the fascination that comes from records like “tiga”.