New release from Opposite Box is everything you need
It has been two years since the last release by Opposite Box and by the sound of it they have spent every minute between then and now crafting what promises to be the most phenomenal album yet.
The big reveal is scheduled for Friday at Clyde’s On Main. They’ll be joined by Dirty Girl from Alabama, a smoking hot blues/funk band in their own right, but that’s not what we’re talking about today.
Today we’re talking about Obscene, the latest and greatest release from Opposite Box, and it sizzles.
The first single from the album is “If You Wanna,” and at 7:58 it represents Opposite Box more perfectly than any other single I’ve heard from the group. The tune starts out as blistering funk, segues into psychedelia, erupts in to full-blown prog-rock, and then wraps it all up in a triumphant funk finale. That’s “If You Wanna,” and that’s Opposite Box.
The band’s musical range damn near makes them three bands in one, and the artistry with which they blend and weave those styles and genres is superb. The band manages to capture the height of the seventies while still sounding absolutely fresh and new. Had they been born several decades earlier, one could easily imagine them touring with the likes of Bootsy Collins and Parliament/Funkadelic.
If I didn’t know better, I’d swear “Afternoon Sex” was produced by Prince himself. The horns alone are a testament to superior musicianship. The backing vocals drip with soul and the rapped lyrics give it just enough contemporary flavor to put it firmly in the 21st century.
“Birds On a Fence (Sarah)” is another exploratory tune whose classical synth sounds meld with heavy, mean guitar work in a synthesis of styles that Opposite Box has mastered. This is a song for putting on the headphones and taking a journey in the comfort of your head (and overstuffed chair to my way of thinking).
The guitar solo work is fast-paced and, yes, funky, and the overall dynamic of the song borders on jam band, but with something more substantive and real than typical jam band music (which is why I refuse to label the band as such.)“Anteater Molly” is yet another classical sounding tune with a horn that speaks to your soul and an extended interplay between drums and bass that, frankly, is long overdue.
One of the biggest problems I have in writing about music is giving the bass and drums their due. Truth is, if they’re doing their job right, they generally form the backbone, the platform from which the other instruments take off, and it can be a thankless job. This tune is one that gives the rhythm section a spotlight, evincing a level of a virtuosity on both instruments that too often goes overlooked.
“Creatures” is as smooth and mellow a song as you’ll hear, something equally at home on the stage or in the bedroom. Seriously, just listening to it makes you feel several degrees cooler than you are. For all the energy the band puts in to their music, it’s a lovely touch and a pleasant surprise to hear a song that shows the power of restraint. It’s an audio aphrodisiac.
The band rounds out the selection with “NuJazz,” a tune that seems to take the best bits and pieces of every other tune on the album and recombines in to one brilliant song.
Beginning to end, this new album is the cream of the crop from a band that already has a reputation for excellence. Available now on bandcamp, the very best way to hear this for the first time will be at Clyde’s On Main Friday night.
If you are still one of those folks who doubts the musical scene in Chattanooga, this show alone should show you the error of your ways in a most glorious and satisfying fashion because the scene is thriving and with this release, Opposite Box has put themselves firmly at the head of it.