Brighton’s newest Krautrock outfit Oral Habit share punk-fused debut ‘A Broken Chord’
The band’s highly anticipated debut album delivers on all fronts.
Photo: Laurence Underwood
Oral Habit’s A Broken Chord opens in a way that I think some of the best albums do — with a kind of spoken word introduction. This nicely sets the tone for the rest of the project, as the band outline what a ‘Broken Chord’ really means, and the intense crescendos of the instruments piled together alludes to the intensity of some of the harder hitting tracks that emerge later on the album.
After this introduction, the album jumps straight into Surface Breaker, one of the two singles released before the album dropped. The contrasting tempos used throughout the track makes it an excellent opener, and the kind of muffled vocals build up a platform for the powerful guitar riffs that slice through each chorus. A smooth transition takes us right into Faux Fidelity, a track which practically bursts with post-punk flavour, and catalyses at the bridge. The riffs slowing to really allow us to take in Charlie Hale’s vocals on perhaps one of Oral Habit’s best songs to date. The Glove, the only other single released from the project, takes the fourth spot on the tracklist. This feels a lot more focused on the lyrics, with the guitar taking a bit of a backseat, however it works really well, displaying the band’s adaptability with different structures in their music.
Chekhov and Matter 2 follow The Glove, and Chekhov (after multiple listens of the album) is perhaps my favourite track. Using an instrumental chorus with riffs reminiscent of something the Osees would undoubtedly use in their projects, the bridge works as a slow build up to the eventual catalyst of the head of the song — a fierce, pulsing, and punk-driven break down, coming to a sudden halt as Matter 2 begins. This feels like a drastic tone change in A Broken Chord, but it acts as a refreshing break from the intensity of the other tracks, instead focusing on distorted instrumentals and a much slower-paced use of vocals.
Thin Trippin’ follows with a great bassline lying at the heart of it. With an almost Brian Jonestown Massacre adjacent sound, this track for me is another clear stand out, and it’s been stuck in my head since the first time I heard it. It’s got such a great structure and the guitar solo is just incredible.
Mystery Gash and Do the Dog take us into the second half of the album, both of them being relatively short and snappy tracks. The screeching guitar works excellently in these upbeat songs, and once again the use of distortion on both the instruments and vocals enhances the psychedelic feel practically oozing from this project.
The penultimate track, Motorway, is once again mainly instrumental, and the guitar work is absolutely captivating. An almost hypnotic use of the rhythm and drums grinds the song to a halt, and the project closes with Crooner and Moon. Opening with an almost church-like organ sound, the delicate ambience of the track works as the perfect closer. Taking on such a different angle (yet similar through the use of vocal distortion) feels like a great way to round off this album.
A Broken Chord is so well structured and composed, sitting perfectly with Oral Habit’s trademark fusion of psychedelic and krautrock elements. It’s such a strong first album, and I can’t wait to see what the band comes up with next.
A Broken Chord is out now via Krautpop! Records.
