Album Review: Oberhofer

Oberhofer bring a smorgasbord of pop rock tunes in their debut release, Time Capsule II. The primary songwriter, Brad Oberhofer, wears his heart on his sleeve, as he writes about the feelings of particular moments, ranging from a magical time spent with a first love (Gold) to saying goodbye to that love (Away Frm U).

The Brooklynites introduce you to the soundtrack of these stories with the prettily composed opener, Hearts, embellished with appealing motifs created by glockenspiels and dramatic fluttering piano. The subtleties are definitely worth noting, in particular, the brief accordion additions all the way throughout, and the outro, which is reminiscent of 1920s carousel/circus music. However, do not be fooled by this first taste, as the rest of the album goes in varying tangents.

From here on, listeners get a load of jangly guitar rock reminiscent of early high school era rock bands, with a much heavier attitude that will no doubt hastily lose the interest of those listeners intrigued by the magic of the opening track. Unfortunately for the four-piece, the recycling of musical motifs – in particular, the overload of obtrusive 'oohing', 'woahing' and 'woa-woa-woahing' in most tracks including oOoO –has led to an unchallenging and boring album. Oberhofer have definitely thrown the 'less is more' formula out of the window in regards the use of 'oohing'.

Luckily, the gorgeous subtleties return with wobbly synths that throw themselves in and our of Yr Face – the chorus of this track sounding a little too similar to Snow Patrol's Chasing Cars, only with more rhythmic drive – and it is these subtleties that Oberhofer know how to do well.