Otro Mundo

Otro Mundo are a garage group playing out of Tempe, Arizona. They recently recorded their premier oeuvre 'Jellied' - a record which proudly blitzes together a whole mélange of influences and pumps the jams through a lagoon of swanky reverb.

The band consists of various guiding lights from the Arizona scene, pitching together members of Pigeon Religion, Avon Ladies (who's '2012' record left firm impressions of greatness on everyone who heard it,) as well as a couple of personalities from Nihilism, Acid Dawgz, and Naive. If you had the brass to do so I guess you could call these fucks a supergroup. You might want to save that tag for some Fantômas or Crosby, Stills, and Nash types though.

Subsequently they played a release show which boasted Brooklyn noise darlings The Men and Washington state's buzzworthy Milk Music on the bill, two groups that have infected the listening habits of so many around the world this past year with respectively stunning LPs. Being associated with some of the most important and challenging bands of today can only be a good thing.

'Jellied' is a notably hard working release. The first listen reveals a swarm of garage punk wildness adopted by an underlying groundwork of solid rock and roll structuring. The five songs on show are cautious not to give too much away too soon and it's only after repeated listens that the figure eight knots of noise unravel themselves and the influences become clear.

Opener 'All In Time' is succulently lo-fi and drums its way into a burst of fruitful melody before you have a chance to even utter the words 'Jay Reatard.' The Sonic Youth bloodline of influence is dramatic but not without tact, as they pick up and run with all the invigoration of mid-timeline 'Youth, while being careful not to leave the poppiness too polished. You can pick up pieces of Hüsker Dü authority flashed in the pan alongside playful Replacements-esque vocals and guitar cuts as this track moves into it's own territory. Second track, 'Midnight Oil Burner,' sounds like the love birds Gordon & Moore covering Beach Boys tracks underwater.

'Heart Thrush' is perhaps my pick of the bunch. It's half mournful drag is perfectly suited in it's tempo to be your new favourite anti-love song of choice. The melody overpowers any edgy garage vibes and strips everything back to reveal a talent within the group for writing effortless pop songs. This track reminds me so much of Nirvana's 'I Hate Myself And I Want To Die' with it's ironically compelling vocal hook and happy-to-be-half-simmering tin pot drumming.

The dynamic changes again as the title track rolls in with a somewhat gazey approach. Swimming through reverb once more, this track is surely something Neil Halstead would be jealous of as it props up a dream pop / Souvlaki vocal presence with sporadic and frantic drumming that sounds like Murph's Dinosaur Jr template in full effect.

This band is a warning sound from the West, that it's not just New York and the North West that get to claim everything for themselves. Give it a listen and i'm sure you'll be impressed. The tape can be bought from their blog below or found via the accompanying download link courtesy of the band themselves.

theotro.blogspot.com
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- Josh