This 7” is called Not Oblivians E.P. cuz the two original songs on it (“Big Black Hole,” “Never Enough”) share the same name as (surprise!) Oblivians ones. Okay. To further the garage-punk link, the album’s on Goner Records (you know, the Memphis-based label that sometimes releases Jay Reatard’s records; the same one that put out the Reigning Sound live album—recorded at their storefront—last year). Anyway, yeah, this album sounds a lot like the Oblivians—with a bass guitar. In short: it’s really boring. Apparently the Hipshakes have forgotten it’s 2006, and simply rehashing Eric, Greg and Jack’s old shtick (you know—Swamp Rats mixed with the Misfits) is really redundant. (I mean, there are—like—thousands of bands currently doing the same thing.) And while I’m not debating the difficulty of replicating the Oblivians’ sound (it’s harder than one thinks), it’s time to move on (see the Reigning Sound’s last album, Miss Alex White and the Red Orchestra’s Self-titled record or the Deadly Snakes’ Porcella). Ultimately, the Hipshakes sound only slightly more informed than those campy bands replicating the “sound of ‘77.”
–ryan (Goner)