Posted on: December 15, 2007 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Oslo – The Rise and Fall of Love and Hate / 2007 Six Feet / 11 Tracks / http://www.osloband.com /

I had a feeling that this was the case, but Oslo is a band from the United States. On “The Rise and Fall”s first track, “Slowdive”, the band calls forth a very current, British sound to alternative rock. The track is catchy in the same neurotically-sung, neatly arranged style as many of the rock tracks that end up charting in the United Kingdom. Regardless of where Oslo draws their influences, “Slowdive” is a track that is perfect for opening up the disc. It is iconic that individuals will begin to associate a specific sound with Oslo, while it does not shine too brightly, so that individuals would feel disappointed with the second half of the disc, no matter how well the band does on it.

“On My Mind” is the disc’s second track, and it shows exactly how much the members of the band are fans of the nineties type of pop-rock. The slightly snotty vocals that are present during this track, coupled with the distorted guitars present, will bring individuals back to the days when Oasis still ruled the world. The title track shifts influences slightly, and the tight arrangements present during this track do not remind individuals of Oasis, but rather 2000-era Muse. The overall presentation of Oslo throughout the entirety of “The Rise and Fall” is confident, the recordings are sharp, but the thing that seems to hold the band back during this album is the fact that few of the disc’s tracks truly break free and create for Oslo a sound that is theirs and theirs alone.

This is not to say that Oslo is anything less than solid; their compositions on “The Rise and Fall” will provide individuals with over three fourths of an hour of music. However, what Oslo does on this album is not anything that is revolutionary, and will not be anything that will create a sea change in a rock style. As some sort of retro look back at the nineties (if that isn’t too soon), Oslo’s “The Rise and Fall” works quite well. There is nary a track on this album that could not be placed on rock radio and played as a “new classic” type of song. For the band’s next album, I would like to hear them create something that shows off more of the band’s desires and own sound. If they can do that, Oslo could fit into the positions of a Charlatans or even, if they are good enough, an Oasis. Time will only see if they will be able to do that, or if they will grind along releasing albums that do not show off their tremendous ability.

Top Tracks: Crowded Room, Mistakes

Rating: 5.0/10

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