OBS was an East L.A. punk band formed in the late ‘80s. Funny, caustic, flamboyant, they would go on to release a record on Nemesis and get banned from a long list of clubs in the Southland. Their music was a mix of first wave English punk—aware of it or not, they channeled a ton of Cock Sparrer—and “pushing buttons” punk like Fear, the Angry Samoans, and the Meatmen. As seems to be an unfortunate pattern in East L.A. punk, someone in the band got mad, someone quit, someone’s feelings got hurt, drinking and drugs caught up, someone felt ripped off, and OBS came to a screeching halt in the late ‘90s. They were selling these CDEPs at their twenty-year anniversary show a couple months ago. The show was wonderfully dysfunctional and theatrical. Fat. Old. Sweaty. Out of breath. Perfect. These four songs fit right into their nineteen-song set without a hiccup. Glad to see ‘em back and here’s to hoping that it’s not just a time capsule, but the start of another run for these guys.
–todd (Self-released)