Obits

I Blame You

[4/5]



It only took one widely circulated bootleg of their first-ever show to establish Obits’ reputation as a killer live band. I Blame You is where they make good on that promise, delivering a record as electrifying as their live show. They set the stage with the swaggering spy-rock riff of “Widow Of My Dreams” before taking it up a notch with the reckless garage-punk abandon of “Pine On.” They even tackle “Milk Cow Blues”-an ancient relic everyone from Elvis Presley to the Kinks has had their way with-and make it sound fresh. What really seals the deal, though, is the voice of Rick Froberg (ex-Hot Snakes/Drive Like Jehu); he rocks the mic with the ragged post-Stooges intensity of Mudhoney’s Mark Arm in his prime. (SUB POP; subpop.com) Ed Masley