I think the time has about come for us to give up the moon as a subject of mysterious fascination. No longer reliant on shaky geocentric world views, and having scientifically proven that the moon is neither home to malicious space invaders nor made of tasty green cheese, I think we're ready to move on to something new. There's a whole universe of bizarre, mysterious things out there-- black holes, dying stars, unexplored distant galaxies-- it seems kind of sad at this point that we still seem to be fascinated with a big rock that's only a few hundred thousand kilometers from earth.
Anthem of the Moon, Oneida's fourth full-length album and second for Bloomington, Indiana's Jagjaguwar label, certainly carries with it some of the mystery that's often been attributed to the rocky satellite it's named after. With album art depicting odd rock formations, ancient instruments, naked guys on horses, and quasi-astrological imagery, and a sound that never seems completely settled or together, Anthem of the Moon isn't an album that gives itself away immediately. As one familiarizes oneself with the record, though, it becomes clear that there's some great, if sometimes uneven, music buried just beneath the record's surface.
Oneida puts their most hectic foot forward, opening the album with "New Head," a synthesizer- and feedback-driven riff-rock number with a simple, if not particularly memorable chorus and some hints of melody buried in the song's midsection. That hint of melody is expanded upon with "All Arounder," the best track here, and the one that best manages to reconcile Oneida's frenetic, unfocused sound with their ability to write memorable songs. Like its predecessor, "All Arounder" is sonically a mess, with guitars, synthesizers, bass and drums melding together into a swirly cloud of sound. The distinct, catchy vocals on the track provide a welcome contrast to its instrumental backing, a contrast that Oneida uses to their advantage throughout Anthem of the Moon.
Starting with "Geometry," Oneida also begin to utilize some heavy contrast between consonance and dissonance. The synthesizers and vocals in "Geometry" don't match up harmonically at first, and when the song later shifts into a dreamy major chord passage, the contrast is striking. If the variety and contrast of this song were held up throughout Anthem of the Moon, the album would be nothing short of spectacular. Unfortunately, the quality of songwriting on the record is far from consistent. Songs like the 5+ minute-long "Still Rememberin' Hidin' in the Stones" and the infuriatingly repetitive "Dead Worlds" just serve as reminders that effects pedals and feedback can't make a boring song good. On "Dead Worlds," in fact, the screeching guitar feedback that pops up every once in a while sounds completely out of place, bordering on annoying.
Indeed, the freaky sounds that permeate Anthem of the Moon really aren't what make it good at all. Sure, they add some flavor and perhaps an air of mystery, but cool sounds aside, Oneida can write some really, really great songs. For all its strangeness, Anthem of the Moon isn't all that different from the moon itself: it's really just rock.
