Album Review: Odonis Odonis – Better

Better, the latest EP from Toronto-based lo-fi band Odonis Odonis, is a complex and interesting integration of raging punk-rock and noisy shoegaze-surf  wrapped in a steely fold of dark, industrial garage sound. Caked in an amplified crackle, “She’s A Death” starts upon a drab-punk guitar riff, flares noisily into a dingy, reverb-drowned rock, then builds to an insanity of throaty screams. “Better” kicks up a cool funk groove and floats out shoegaze-esque vocals, but doesn’t hold that temperament for long before unleashing a wrath of strident guitars and shouting vocals. A moody punk dream, “Intelligence” rises upon dreamy swells of distortion and a crushed surf-found to achieve an exciting if indiscernible chorus. The fascinating chaos of “Robotic Surfer” churns through a frenzy of shredding guitars, unstoppable percussion and hell-bound vocals. “Flight Risk” is a deranged carnival of industrial fright while driving ominous drone of “Black Bones” appropriately evokes its title. This sort of music is not typically to my taste, but I greatly enjoyed the strange creativity and vivid impressions the tracks left on me. Plus, clocking at fifteen minutes, the EP is a perfectly enjoyable length, making a listen well worth the time.