Musical fervor with crescendos

the Steve Christy EP\nOIO\nAnechoir Recordings\nWho says electronically based music can't have soul?\nFormerly local, now Chicago-based OlO proves this and other musical profiling wrong with its latest album, the Steve Christy EP. And yes, the band is big in Japan. \nRunning 30-plus minutes, these musicians already have a Weezer album with only four songs. The band's eerie synth/keys sound mixes with driving bass, guitar and drums to continue waxing and wanning melancholy and rockingness. The songs are continuations of the previous tune's thoughts without being repetitive -- sort of like eating the same sandwich four times but switching the condiments. \n"Death Through Habitual Living" opens the EP with a pulsating rhythm bleeding smoothly into dark musical thoughts. With the line, "You could be my primary prescription to salvation," you know it can't be entirely positive. OlO melts wistfulness into thoughtful chords, the kind of song you might write on a cloudy day when you are trying to be wise about something miserable gone wrong.\nForrest Means draws you in with his lonely yet bright cornet slightly echoing in the background while the bass drives the song along. OlO is all about building you up and letting you down softly -- after multiple minutes of instrumental introduction, the slightly hidden vocals finally chime in and the music reaches its purpose. After more musical fervor, OlO lets you down with a decrescendo into just vocals and light representation from the rhythm section. \nTeardrop-smooth guitar licks bring you into "Il Popolo," a song that again displays OlO's understanding of balance, timing and pacing. This band does not rush through its songs, but proceeds slowly enough to let you almost hear what they are thinking while composing, which is a soothing change of pace. Crash cymbals sway this song along, which adds more tear drop guitar and computery sounds in the back. \nAmazingly enough, with only four songs on the album, 350 words is still not enough length to convey the music of OlO. Each song is complex, with many textures and layers, crescendos and decrescendos. It's an album that will make you appreciate time spent on musical thoughts. It is also an EP that you wouldn't be able to listen to every day, but perhaps when you are feeling patient. \nOlO's the Steve Christy EP is definitely worth a listen. \n

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