For their debut full length, math rock monsters Narrow/Arrow offer up a ten track song cycle about how much they hate Ohio.
Who gave them the key to my heart?
Midwest rivalries aside, this full length is incredible. After the stunning Middle Children EP, expectations were high…and so were apprehensions. It was the sort of dazzlingly brilliant debut EP that legends are built on. Scores of underground acts have built mythologies on that exact kind of release before offering up a disappointing full length and disbanding. Following up Middle Children would be no easy feat.
Thankfully, ClaustrOHphobia more than meets those expectations. Cody Nicolas’ twin-guitar lines are as bright and innovative as they were the first time we heard them. His acrobatic voice leaps from soaring melodies to aggressive screams above the frenetic rhythm section’s skittering drums and climbing bass lines. On a few occasions, the ensemble is augmented by a horn section.
“Correct Sean” opens the record with everything that the group does best. Twin guitar taps and an angular bass line ride a rushing drum beat while Cody’s voice soars above the mix, climaxing with a scream. “Amy To Your Right” pulls things back a bit, its tranquil harmonies sounding like a math rock Local Natives. “Berta Pray” addresses the tension of his lack of faith among his religious family again, singing “God knows I’ve grown comfortable stepping over miracles / Satirical until lacks passing off as sentimental / Then fight the need to give in to really feel forgiven.” It reads like missing the comfort of faith, even when the foundation of that faith means nothing to you anymore. Fall On Tara Lee” coats acoustic guitar chords with halls worth of reverb and pairs them with a glitchy drum beat before fading into the ambient noise scape of “Andy Kapp ‘Par King.’”
The hilariously titled “Your Aurora Bores Me, Alice” opens the B-side with big harmonies and drum beats that shift from double time to half time on a dime. “Rufus On Fire” is stabby and dancy, mixing sacred and profane images like a cocktail. “If my left hand’s on the Bible, shove the right one down my jeans.” After another ambient acoustic track, “Past Part of Cybil” closes the album with all of the hallmarks of their sound firmly in place, rusing on morality, religion, substance abuse, mental illness, and life in the suburban Midwest. “Well how could I have known / Killing time in middle Ohio would start killing me.”
Where ClaustrOHphobia really shines though is in the composition of the album as a whole. Middle Children, incredible as it was, was little more than five incredible songs played one after the other. ClaustrOHphobia moves in suites, shifting moods and reprising themes as a single narrative. The songs are incredible on their own, but they are the most rewarding when heard as a single work. And given that that’s how I listen to music anyway…
In all, this is an absolute masterpiece by a band that already proved they were in the masterpiece-making business. If you haven’t had your eye on these folks yet, start paying attention.