Jack Yarber has pretty much done it all. Ey has spent tours in The Compulsive Gamblers, Jack O and the Tennessee Tearjerkers and The Oblivians. Rat City drops all the extra musicians and hangers-on and showcases Oblivian at eir most honest. What results with Rat City is a tremendously touching and emotionally intense album, with tracks that run the range of styles and feelings that listeners have came to expect from Yarber’s varied acts.
Rat City begins with a self-titled effort htat acts in a narrative fashion. With this track, Jack is able to introduce eirself to listeners. Long-term fans would do well to focus on this track, which is considerably different in tone than any other track Oblivian has committed to disc. After this “how do you do”, Oblivian is able to let eir wings unfurl with the one-two punch of Mass Confusion and Old Folks Boogie. Of the two, Old Folks Boogie is the stronger – it has a timeless quality to it that will reach a huge swath of fans, no matter what music that they may like.
It is this wide-open feel that makes Rat City such a memorable album – Moses and Me exists at the intersection between traditional and current perfectly. This means that, dependent on the context that one places upon the track, the overall meaning of this cut will change. As a result, it behooves listeners to give Rat City a number of listens before putting it down. There are different nuances and bits and pieces hidden in the periphery, hidden Easter eggs that will make one’s enjoyment of the album that much more. Check it out.
Top Tracks: Old Folks Boogie, Girl With The Bruises
Rating: 8.6/10
Jack Oblivian – Rat City (CD) / 2011 Fat Possum / 12 Tracks / http://www.fatpossum.com / http://www.facebook.com/jackoblivian
John Sargeant, writing on NeuFutur as Sargeant, is the founder and editor-in-chief of NeuFutur Magazine, where he has covered independent music, PC hardware, consumer tech, and gaming culture since 1998. With over 25 years of continuous digital publishing experience, he has written thousands of hands-on game and record reviews, conducted in-depth hardware field testing, and analyzed digital media monetization trends. His work prioritizes first-hand evaluation and long-term product testing.
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