Most of what I get to review for Razorcake isn’t up my alley and, frankly, isn’t very good. In contrast, Red Metal, by Dallas-based three-piece Oilboom, is by far the best album I’ve received in ages. It’s nine songs in thirty-five minutes (perfect length, by the way) of a mash of blues, dance punk, Motown groove, and power pop. The songs are all catchy as hell and will make you want to dance and sing along. What I love is that when I listen to this album I hear little bits of things that remind me of so many different artists: this opening sounds like something from Chad Vangaalen, that riff is like one I once heard in a song by the Buzzcocks, the vocals here remind me of the Strokes, that guitar reminds me of a keyboard part from the Doors, and so on. That’s not to say it sounds like any of those bands exactly, but Oilboom is able to take all those pieces and put them together in a way that is seamless and effective. These are songs that are crafted by a band that has been around for a while and knows what works and what doesn’t. They’ve nailed it here.
–kurt (Self-released, oilboomband.com)