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Oblivion:
The Garden in the Machine
Oblivions opener, Situation Six, busts out like a kick in the gut from Led Zeppelin and Rush. A healthy dose of double bass drummingon this song as well as othersadds a bit of a metal feel that, while you may disagree with it, you must respect it. The press kit says that The Garden in the Machine is laden with heavy riffs and complex, ephemeral interludes. Here, as elsewhere, press info seems destined to get it wrong, as the riffs arent all too heavy and the interludes are neither complex nor ephemeral. Strapping Young Lad and Converge write heavy riffs, and Mr. Bungle and Dillinger Escape Plan write complex, ephemeral interludes. Here, the riffs are pulled from a more laid back hard-rock smorgasbord, and the interludes are floating and melodic mid-length affairs. I do appreciate that the songs within The Garden in the Machine explore more musical nuances than one might expect. With a bevy of serious late-70s era Rush moments and a press kit touting the words technical and complex, you would almost think that musicians who practice their instruments are becoming cool again. Sure, there are no organ solos, but I seriously doubt that Oblivion will mind if you call them progressive rock. And since one of their songs is called Homeric Epic, Exit No. 3, they are asking for it, right? The good news is that Oblivion remains focused and song-oriented throughout. The Garden in the Machine has several moments of very nice standout guitar work: the intro and chorus melodies in Petal, the dreamy interlude in Enos Mills, and the guitar solo in Dragonfly. These moments demonstrate surprising taste in their combination of warmth and melodic invention. I should note that the album sleeve contains no lyrics, which leaves the listener somewhat clueless as to the lyrical content. Yes, yes I know. One always has the option to listen carefully for the lyrics But that, my dear reader, is a pain in the ass. Only if one has a strong suspicion that the lyrics are truly superb is such effort warranted. The only minor clues to be gleaned come from a Radiohead-esque manifesto in the album sleeve: I am a model citizen. I own a car I am a drivers license number, etc., etc. With song titles such as The Language of Dissent and American History XXX, socio-political commentary seems more likely than not. But, for all my lazy-ass knows, these songs could be about the joy of watching football and eating crackers. These considerations aside, The Garden in the Machine, while not something that I could unreservedly recommend to my pals, shows promise. Its an album good enough to indicate the future possibility of an exceptional album.
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