OHN
Let’s Get It … (Independent Records/Ill-Dough) It should come as no surprise to anyone that OHN, the Austin-based electronic supergroup featuring former members of everyone from 16 Volt to Retarded Elf, comes off more like a neo-noir film soundtrack more than any single band the various members have anchored in the past. The 12 tracks here run the gamut from the sinuous industrial ambience of opener “Crawlspace” to the loping groove of “Magnetic,” which piles Chris Forshage’s scrawly guitar line atop a funk foundation enveloped in a cocoon of laptop clickbeepery courtesy of founder and former Necrofix member Bildeaux. There’s a sense of five musicians throwing their various skills in the proverbial pot and kicking it up a notch or 10 to see what’ll require a spatula to scrape off. When it works, it’s some of the best instrumental electronica Austin’s ever produced. “Regret” recalls Vangelis’ Blade Runner score with plaintive ease. The four skinny tracks variously labeled “V1” through “V4” are, however, the cinematic equivalent of supertitles linking better snatches of song. Those minor digressions aside, tracks like “Cowboys and Indians,” with its whirlpool of slowly churning basslines and sitars, insinuate themselves in the back of your head and breed like stoned bunnies. ¡Viva Pro Tools!
This article appears in November 21 • 2003.