Hobble
Gods Work (AMC) Barreling through the intersection of punk and hard rawk like a souped-up El Camino, Gods Work advances Hobble’s cause with zealous fervor. The local quartet’s third release harnesses bombastic guitar theatrics, a hypercaffeinated rhythm section, and blood-curdling screams that would’ve given Kurt Cobain laryngitis. Hobble exhibits mad skills in the art of hold-and-release, a trait amplified by having plenty of sex on the brain. While “Boxes” finds singer Oriah Lonsdale moaning to be spanked until his screams wake the neighbors, the minutelong blast of “Gotta Get It Up” captures the more universal adolescent male sensation of being a walking hard-on. You can almost hear a lascivious smile creeping across Lonsdale’s mug as he sings about being both cocky and sloppy on “Love Slut.” The band summons a sexualized rock god on “Good Times” (“When I come, then you’ll know you’re the chosen ones”) and explores the life of a gay cowboy movie star with the Southern-styled “Cowboy Song.” Through it all, Hobble keeps the energy level consistently high, even when they trot out a 27-second song screech. Gods Work doesn’t quite capture Hobble’s formidable live presence, but until some techno-whiz invents a holographic version of Lonsdale to bounce around your domicile, it’ll do just fine, thank you.
This article appears in October 10 • 2003.
