“The Garden in the Machine” is the second full-length album from promising Michigan rockers Oblivion, and the first to be released on the independent Audiokio label, which was co-founded and is run by Wesleyan student Sivan Cotel ’05. “The Garden in the Machine” marks a departure for the label, which heretofore has dealt primarily with hip-hop artists in the New York area. Still, this move has all the markings of a safe and potentially lucrative decision as Oblivion already has a loyal fan-base around the Detroit area and boasts a highly marketable sound.
Oblivion plays commercial-sounding alternative metal, which these days would be lumped in the category of nü-metal, alongside such acts as Staind and Hoobastank. Thankfully, they manage to avoid the angsty adolescent histrionics and rapping so popular with groups like Limp Bizkit and Slipknot.
With “Garden,” they provide a solid, if somewhat pedestrian, album of melodic, grunge-inflected metal. The LP is rather well sequenced, with tracks flowing into one another smoothly and striking a fair balance between heavier, riff-intensive tracks and the requisite rock ballads. One such tune, “The Language of Dissent,” is an anthem number which begins quietly with just piano and wistful vocals before gradually building up to a grandiose, climactic guitar solo designed to make concert-goers raise their lighters in unison.
Now, I should be up front and honest about my biases; I am a borderline indie music snob and tend to avoid mainstream “alternative” radio like the plague. And if there is one place Oblivion is destined for, it is mainstream “alternative” radio. For better and for worse, “Garden” sounds like it would fit seamlessly into rotation on KROQ, right between Incubus and whatever other nü-metal band is popular on a given day. In fact, when track three (“Dragonfly”) came on I had to check and make sure I had not mistakenly put on an Incubus CD, with its similar effect-laden sonic texture and front man Tres Crow’s vocal delivery a dead ringer for that of Brandon Boyd.
And that brings us to the main contradiction of my listening experience with “Garden.” On one hand I admire its consistent level of polish. With its catchy hooks and studio trickery, it sounds like the product of a major label act with tons of money behind it. It is difficult to believe that this is the product of a young independent label run by a Wesleyan undergrad.
Yet my main gripe with “Garden” stems from this same fact: for all its polish the album lacks a strong individual voice. The whole thing is relentlessly professional; “Garden” sports excessively clean production, courtesy of Ben Began of 40 Oz. Sound, who gave every track a radio-ready sheen. Unfortunately, while sanding off the rough edges may have served to further enhance the album’s commercial viability, it does so at the expense of individuality.
I do not wish to come down too harshly on the band. They have a great deal of talent; Crow has a strong rock voice with impressive range while Scott Lauffer does an impressive job keeping time and coaxing complex rhythms from behind his drum set. This band has what it takes to be successful, and is better than much of the schlock flooding record stores these days. Fans of the commercial alternative rock on the radio these days would definitely find this an enjoyable, satisfactory album.
It is just that at this stage, the band seems interchangeable with any number of rock artists from the last ten years. While Oblivion may be a decent, even above average rock act, “The Garden in the Machine” offers nothing any of us haven’t heard before.
To learn more about Oblivion or to listen to samples of their music, check out http://www.oblivionrockmusic.com. “The Garden in the Machine” can be purchased through the Audiokio Productions website www.audiokio.com.
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