Exploded View - Obey

Exploded View is the very dystopian Experimental project of Annika Henderson and Geoff Barrow of Portishead.  The first time I heard these guys were around the time of their very creepy, sinister "No More Parties in the Attic" single.  And honestly, at first, I didn't really get the track and sort of pushed it off as modern Experimental nonsense.  But to be honest, this track was so chilling and minimal that it actually stuck with me over time a whole lot, and the two clearly had chemistry.  Now, the next time I checked in with Exploded View was with their "Summer Came Early" EP, which was actually really fantastic.  This EP took the very sinister, chilling sounds of their first material, but added in this wonderful retro pop flair that I thought was really interesting.  It was a really solid little EP, one that had me really salivating to hear more.  But with their self-titled debut, I was sort of underwhelmed.  A lot of the mystery and chilling retro-pop had gone, and in its place was a much more Experimental tone.  But it wasn't that tuneful, and I preferred the twisted Pop they had been toying with for years.  The duo is back, and are honestly sounding much more in the line of where I want to hear them.  Let's chat, friends.

This starts off with “Lullaby”, a very noisy and abrasive start.  But it’s also really great at bringing in some genuinely mysterious passages.  Like, the very straightforward strumming is so normal.  But everything else about this track actually really gets under your skin.  It’s so twisted between Annika Henderson’s vocals and this incredibly dense and dreary atmosphere.   It’s decent, it could have been taken further, but it certainly felt me in the mood for this album.  On the other hand, I absolutely did not expect to hear this very bubbly and animate instrumental of “Open Road” up next.  But it does fade into the background very quick and it’s replaced by this very dreary Folk piece.  But my goodness this is so much more effective and exactly where I want to hear Exploded View.  Annika sounds so calculating and dreary, in a way this is where she started off, coming off like a sort of vintage Pop singer.  But man, she really does sound incredible.  And the instrumental on this one just seems to be constantly evolving.  It’s obviously nothing too heavy or wildly exciting.  But for a track that really uses mood and atmosphere well, this is fantastic.  Now, “Dark Stains” is a really interesting one.  This one brings in some electronic elements that are seriously hypnotic and intense.  It leads almost to some Post-Punk vibes, that is only made bigger and stronger by Annika’s very monotone performance.  And honestly, I dig it.  It’s very rigid and tense, there’s almost an Industrial feel to this between the hulking production and blasting beats.  This isn’t exactly the sound I was expecting to hear, but it’s very flattering to the Exploded View sound.  But it’s with the sound of tracks like “Gone Tomorrow” that I really still feel like they have room to grow.  This is just so slow and minimal, which I’m totally down with.  I do enjoy Annika’s performance which is very chilling, but you have plenty of time to check it out because this track is all about her.  Mostly because honestly there’s nothing else to cling to here.  Like, I literally have nothing to say about these slowly paced synths and wonky instrumentals. 

Now, Exploded View with “Obey” is really going for just about the weirdest and most out there sound that they’ve gone with to date.  Like, this is a totally freakish, living organism of a track.  It’s filled with so many layers that are constantly moving, with Annika’s most hard to pin down vocals to date.  And honestly, I’m not too into it again.  This sort of wraps up everything that I really wasn’t too nutty about with their full-length debut.  There’s definitely a very haunting, Anti-Pop feel.  But this, while exciting at times has almost nothing memorable overall.  “Sleepers” however instantly has these wailing synths and a very twisted feel to everything.  Here, Annika is at her most mysterious.  The very slow pace actually really helps this one the way it slowly unfolds.  It’s so dreary, and there certainly is a Pop melody deep down.  It’s just incredibly obtuse and hard to decipher.  But let me tell you, it’s really good.  I love the very dense atmosphere that’s almost campy and twisted enough to get away from that tag.  But it’s also one the more abrasive and noisy side of Exploded View.  This is just a fantastic sound for the duo, and exactly where I want to hear them.  Now, “Letting Go Of Childhood Dreams” is a seriously weird switch up, as this duo branch out here into this sort of weird Experimental Baroque Pop.  And honestly, I dig it.  It’s got this abrasive synth flaring through which isn’t exactly pretty.  But the sheer mystery of this one, and Annika’s absolutely frigid performance makes for some really interesting moments.  These aren’t instantaneous tracks, at all.  On the contrary, a lot of these take tons of listens.  But it leaves plenty to be discussed.  Especially when it comes to these very graceful flute and guitars that pop in, changing this one’s direction entirely.  It’s stunning.  Exploded View continues to have almost constant surprises up their sleeves with “Raven Raven”.  This is far from the most straightforward tune here, with a ton of whirring and Annika absolutely ranting in place of singing.  But here, there is this absolutely wildly good groove that hums its way through the track.  It’s absolutely mesmerizing, especially in the way that this track locks in on this groove.  It’s so simple, but between that and this sort of Old School Pop approach to Annika's performance, once again I’m floored.  This album started off slow, but this is exactly where I want to hear them. 

As this album keeps going, things just keep getting more and more abrasive and wild.  With “Come On Honey”, I actually really love Annika’s very sweet, innocent performance.  However, as noisy and exciting as this one is, this is a songwriting low for sure that I just can’t ignore.  There’s stuff to love here for sure, like the very D.I.Y. approach and just how raucous some of these instrumentals are, but man, I just wish this one mixed things up a bit more.  “Rant” finished this album off reminding us that you never really know where this is going to turn.  Once again, we’re dealing with a strong Post-Punk edge, I almost would be interested to hear them go down this route more.  But Annika’s much more hypnotic and tuneful performance here is so much better than the last track.  It’s still very scattered and it’s absolutely abstract.  Like, with each listens you hear more and more strange instruments pop in here and there.  Bizarre synths, lush pianos, buzzing sounds, it’s a lot to take in.  But deep down, this is a Pop song.  A weird one, but a Pop song nonetheless. 

Rating: 7.8/10

Give A Listen To: “Open Road”, “Obey”, “Letting Go Of Childhood Dreams”, “Raven Raven”

Least Favorite Track: “Gone Tomorrow”

Genre: Experimental Rock / Post Punk

Overall Thoughts:  Compared to the last Exploded View album, this much more in the right direction.  The duo has toyed with combining a Vintage Pop and Experimental Rock sound for years.  And up until now, it’s been pretty tame.  But Annika and Geoff here bring in elements of Post-Punk, eerie Baroque Pop and tons more to create their most chilling album to date.  And yes, it’s a little bit of a slow start, and when these guys come through with a stinker of a tune, it’s BAD.  But this is a wildly inventive Rock album that will keep you guessing and will absolutely leave you scratching your head in all the best ways.