Obnox exists in the static bleedthrough of punk and soul music. It's a place where Cleveland's Lamont "Bim" Thomas has spent decades dialing in deep and ripping off the knob in bands like Bassholes and This Moment In Black History. But with Obnox, Thomas lays himself bare in mind-numbing fuzz that doesn't forget the hook's the thing.
This has been a busy year for Obnox, which has released two albums already — Boogalou Reed and Know America — and has a third on the way, Wiglet. "See Me" bludgeons with blown-out production, yet doles out starlit vocal melodies like a doo-wop 45 thrown into a wood chipper. The sort-of love song also acts as a pick-up manifesto that would be boastful if its invitation weren't so vulnerable: "L.A. Blues, Saturday night / Trying to do everything right / Failing miserably / What if I was white / Can't think like that / Plague state of mind."
Wiglet comes out Oct. 6 on Ever/Never.
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