Exposé Online banner

Exposé Online

Not just outside the box, but denying the existence of boxes.
Covering music from the fringes since 1993.

Reviews

OGD — The Big Game
(Bandcamp no#, 2020, CD / LP / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2021-05-26

The Big Game Cover art

Thinking back to that time in the early 90s, there was a time when rock music started making inroads on popular music charts, regaining some of what had been lost when synth-pop and pop-metal ruled the charts. Nirvana, Pearl Jam, 3 Doors Down, Jane’s Addiction, Soundgarden, and the like were selling like crazy, and thousands of other bands dove into the stream. The bands didn’t all sound exactly the same, but there were many common features, like loud / soft contrasting sections, vocal melodies over choppy backing chords, hints of metal but not of the highly-produced variety of hair-metal bands, and hints of punkish attitude. Listening to OGD’s debut, a listener could easily believe it came out in 1994, as it’s firmly in that style, with very few technological or other hints that it’s more recent. To be fair, I’m willing to allow progressive rock bands to sound like they’re from the 70s, so it would be hypocritical to categorically dismiss OGD for having a retro sound. What we have here is a solid set of ten rock songs that are well-written, skillfully played, and impeccably produced. There’s certainly none of the lo-fi production that characterized some early 90s albums. OGD is the New York trio of Derek Olivero (guitar, lead vocals), Bobby Gavin (drums, vocals), and Dave De Ranieri (bass, vocals), and the album was produced by veteran drummer Jerry Marotta. You’ll hear nothing really unique or original — but I’ve often said that originality is overrated, and can’t be used as an “objective” gauge of quality. There are times where I feel a little less perfection of performance would be welcome, but I admire how meticulously the album was recorded. I have no problem recommending The Big Game to fans of 90s rock, and it’s actually kind of nice to have something new in the area that’s so well-produced.

Filed under: New releases, 2020 releases

Related artist(s): OGD

More info
http://ogdband.bandcamp.com/album/the-big-game

 

What's new

These are the most recent changes made to artists, releases, and articles.