Track Listing 1. Eiger, The 2. Lavender 3. Spirits 4. Run Through My Hair 5. High Life 6. Did I Die 7. You're Drifting 8. Charlemagne 9. Know 10. Heavenly Choir 11. Leaves 12. Beginning Is Nigh, The 13. August Morning Haze
| Details | | Distributor: | Alternative Dis. Alliance | | Recording Type: | Studio | | Recording Mode: | Stereo | | SPAR Code: | n/a |
Album Notes Oneida: Kid Millions, Baby Hanoi Jane, Fat Bobby. Personnel: Amond Davison, Philip Manley (guitar); Barry London (sitar); John Marcus, Cornelius Dufallo (violin); Marla Hansen (viola); Emily Manzo (piano); Chris Turco (drums); Nicolas Vernhes (percussion). Additional personnel: Adam Davison (guitar); Marla Hansen (violin); Leigh Stuart (cello); Brian Coughlin (double bass); Brad Truax (bass guitar); Chris Turco (drums); Nicolas Vernhes, Philip Manley, Barry London, John Marcus, Emily Manzo, Cornelius Dufallo. Audio Mixers: Barry London; Nicolas Vernhes. Recording information: Barry's Humboldt Palace, Brooklyn, NY; Rare Book Room, Brooklyn, NY; Vale Of Tears, Brooklyn, NY. There is an urban legend about this album: some claim that THE WEDDING was inspired by the melodies of an enormous music box built by the members of the band. True or not, a music box might seem a strange avatar for a group of guitar-heavy art rockers like Oneida. But the image serves as a useful metaphor for this methodical, experimental, and altogether lovely album. That's not to say that THE WEDDING doesn't rock. "Did I Die" bangs along over fuzzy riffs, with lead guitars snarling all the way, and on "Spirits" the raga-inflected melody floats over insistent guitar figures and driving drums. Even on quieter numbers like the opening track, "The Eiger," where Oneida incorporates a string arrangement, or the mid-tempo ballad "You're Drifting," guitar and drums remain central. What is ultimately experimental about this album isn't so much the extreme shifts in dynamics and tempo, though there are plenty of those. It is Oneida's ability to do indie rock differently. Oneida's interest in repeated melodic figures and shifting time signatures, which are pushed further in some of their previous work, are here employed to create songs that are both emotionally affecting and musically compelling. Oneida are true originals.
Editorial Reviews 4 stars out of 5 - [A] freewheeling blend of raga rock, clockwork folk, Black Sabbath impersonation and '80s arcade game soundtracks....THE WEDDING bridges high- and low-brow without ever being anything less than exhilarating. Uncut
3 stars out of 5 - [A]n album as dense as grey matter thanks to queasy string arrangements, fever-spiked keyboards and guitarist Hanoi Jane's migraine-intense riffing. Mojo
Oneida's most cohesive and beautiful record to date. It's a menacing, baroque/psych masterpiece that will reward the faithful... Magnet
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