I remember first hearing the slacker-indie tones of Brad Oberhofer’s lazy vocals on the 2010 single ‘o0Oo0Oo0’, believing that I was listening to a band on the precipice of greatness. After an o0Oo0Oo0kay effort with 2012 album Time Capsules II, it is fair to say that Oberhofer never really caught the public’s eye. The Brooklyn group return this year, however, with new album Chronovision, recently releasing lead single ‘Memory Remains’.
‘Memory Remains’ shows some musical growth, with duelling guitars complimenting each other well from the intro and throughout the single. Lyrically, Oberhofer have also improved, with previous tracks sounding slightly ad-libbed, ‘Memory Remains’ flows with coherent verses that tell the story of a break up in the style of the Pixies’ younger, surfer cousins.
Structurally, the group still continue to have problems in tying different song elements together, with the jump to the pre-chorus sounding slightly clumsy and a bizarre arena-rock section occurring in the middle of the song.
This is a decent, likable track, like any surf-pop revival, but Oberhofer shouldn’t expect an Ivor Novello this year.
Words by Matt Ganfield
@mattganfield