Brooklyn's Oakley Hall play American Rock with an edge (and without the typical pretentiousness of a band from Brooklyn. Or at least a minimal amount of it.). Varing from Neil Young style distorted rave ups (that definitely have an abrasive quality) to simpler, more melodic tunes with sweet harmonies, this band runs the gamut between those two rock stylings. And they do it well. The 2 ladies in Oakley Hall add so much to the band's sound, Claudia on the fiddle and Rachel with her shining vocals. I've seen them twice live and both shows were stellar. Here's what I feel is a pretty spot-on quote:
"Imagine The Band if they were twenty-first-century New York kids." DAVID FRICKE - ROLLING STONE
The video below is of one of their more raucus tracks ("Lazy Susan"),and it's pretty cool (I actually bought the DVD of this show from the PUNKCAST dude who filmed it last year for $5 postpaid. How cool is that?). It's a simple one camera hand-held video and has a grittiness and realness that gives you a good feel for the room (and I think highlights the failings of the much slicker, multi-camera, overly edited shit that seems to have become standard for what "good" concert footage is these days). And the audio is superior to 99% of that other live music shit on youtube.
Check out these tracks on the imeem playlist below:
(1) Angela - I put this mellower first to counterbalance the decidely non-mellow Lazy Susan video. This song highlights Rachel Cox's great voice. The slide guitar part that starts at the 2 minute mark is simple, but so fucking cool...
(2) If I Was in El Dorado - The fiddle is prominent here but it's still not too country for me.
(3) Confidendence Man - Cool intro. Lots of cool distorted guitar. I like the cadence of the vocals too.
(4) Light of My Love - Pat Sullivan shows that he can sing too.
(5) Eyes, Lock and Steel - A slower track, but there's a lot to like about this song
(6) Free Radicals Lament - A mellower Pat Sullivan song that I really dig.
Oakley Hall
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