There\u2019s a lingering note midway through \u201cRainBounce,\u201d a thoroughly enjoyable song on Reptar\u2018s EP Oblangle Fizz, Y\u2019all, where lead singer Graham Ulicny lets out an unusual but recognizable yelp. I couldn\u2019t quite place it, so I went back and listened again only to be struck (and stuck) by its familiarity, whether implied or accidental.<\/p>\n
Then it hit me \u2014 Reptar is sounding all Cee-Lo amidst the many other musical noises it\u2019s churning, and the reference had me at full grin. Cee-Lo\u2019s secret power is his catchy arrangements and surprising voice make you perk up whether you want to or not. The same must be said for Reptar, yet another band to emerge from the band wonderland of Athens, Ga., which in five songs created a wealth of lasting musical moments.<\/p>\n
Reptar is on the cusp, boasting a riotous stage act with upcoming dates at Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits, and Oblangle Fizz, Y\u2019all serves as the band\u2019s declarative statement of purpose. It spends the 25-minute EP playing with beats and tempos, sounding pure pop one minute, afro-beat the other, throwing in bells and whistles (literally), alarm clocks, bird sounds and maybe even the kitchen sink. Each song is stuffed with adventure, making it impossible not to listen to Oblangle more than once.<\/p>\n
\u201cBlastoff\u201d is the opening salvo, a twisty ride of chants, dance grooves and electronica \u2014 it changes moods the moment it becomes too comfortable. The quirky opener makes way for the funky \u201cStuck In My ID,\u201d a straight-up cool jam with a potent guitar hook throughout. This funkiness elevates on \u201cRainBounce,\u201d and it\u2019s here the band\u2019s past work with producer Ben Allen (who\u2019s worked with Sean P. Diddy Combs, Gnarls Barkley and Animal Collective) finds overt influence. Ulicny takes great joy using his voice as a seesaw, stuttering consonants in happy cadence. What makes \u201cRainBounce\u201d the EP\u2019s top track is the abrupt shift of pace, when the easy rhythm become a torrid spitting of words and sirens. Odd, yes, but fascinating.<\/p>\n
By the time \u201cPhonetics\u201d rolls around, there\u2019s not much Reptar can do to stir and surprise, so it doesn\u2019t. Instead \u201cPhonetics\u201d builds into a sing along before falling back to a playful mix of piano and lyrics. When Ulicny sings \u201cAnd all of these emotions buried deep in emotional oceans\/ You spend the rest of your life finding out what they do,\u201d you only need to nod. Oblangle Fizz, Y\u2019all is the wave of the future \u2014 one worth discovering piece by piece.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There\u2019s a lingering note midway through \u201cRainBounce,\u201d a thoroughly enjoyable song on Reptar\u2018s EP Oblangle Fizz, Y\u2019all, where lead singer Graham Ulicny lets out an unusual but recognizable yelp. I couldn\u2019t quite place it, so I went back and listened again only to be struck (and stuck) by its familiarity, whether implied or accidental. Then […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1518,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[480,111],"class_list":["post-1517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-review","tag-oblangle-fizz-yall","tag-reptar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1517"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1517\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1519,"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1517\/revisions\/1519"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}