Onesie - Way Thousand Bump To The Sky

I joined the Onesie party in 2019 as they released their second album, Umpteenth. That album hit our Best Of Year. 2023 brought Liminal Hiss which hit the Top 10 of that year. Here's the Brooklyn Trio's fourth and it is a stormer.

You might call them Power Pop, because they can be, however they often aren't. When they are it is usually a noisier version of the genre, but they are also Slacker Pop, without the my life is shite bit. Then again they aren't much of these things.

Incredibly Inventive, with quirks a la Andy Partridge, at times they remind me of Ash, the wit is the same, but there is far more depth to Onesie. They are noisy, but in a good way that never loses sight of the melody. Chorus led joy.

The riffs are what make them most, unusual at times, often coming out of nowhere, but completely hitting the sweet sport. There is also a lyrical adeptness to aid these great arrangements. Tryptophantastic is so XTC, even like Blur doing XTC. 

Yet, Maybe Life's Just A Monitor Gig is a great Guitar Pop song with a Rush like riff. So Darkside is very close to a Toytown song. Superlative could be The Sugarplastic and the 100mph of Doing A Band sounds a little Sugar.

The closer, In Dream You're Every Character, is an astonishing song. Very like another band that I hold on a pedestal, The Mommyheads, almost a doppelgänger. Adding Sax, it shows a completely different side to the trio.

Onesie sort of catch people by surprise. On the face of it they appear to be a slightly noisy Indie band. But listen to this and you will realise the work that goes into an album and how spot on they get it. Not like any one else, totally themselves. Way Thousand Bump To The Sky is a masterpiece.

You can listen to and buy the album here. It is available on Vinyl, CD and as a download.

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I Don't Hear A Single Albums Of The Year 2023 : Top 10

 



For the last few years We have compiled annual Best Of 's because these posts seem so popular and the aim of this Blog is to get exposure (and Sales) for the artists. A reminder that anything reviewed on I Don't Hear A Single is highly recommended. 

Narrowing things down to this 100 has been really difficult. The countdown is posted in reverse batches of 10. For each album, a song is embedded from the album and a link is provided to the IDHAS Review where you can find further details and how to listen or buy the album.

We reach the Top 10 conclusion. Tomorrow will feature the cut out and keep guide with a list of all 100 albums. EPs will be covered on Tuesday.

1 Mythical Motors - The Sunrise Registry      IDHAS Review

2 Odd Robot - Deathmates        IDHAS Review

3 Buddie - Agitator      IDHAS Review

4 Shplang - Thank You, Valued Customer      IDHAS Review

5 The Dumbanimals - Thrift Pop      IDHAS Review

6 The Telepathic Butterflies - Plan B      IDHAS Review

7 The Mommyheads - Coney Island Kid      IDHAS Review

8 Onesie - Liminal Hiss      IDHAS Review

9 Equipment - Alt. Account     IDHAS Review 

10 Wurld Series - The Giant's Lawn      IDHAS Review

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Onesie - Liminal Hiss

 

It has been four long years since the last Onesie album, you can read the review of that album, Umpteenth, here. That album featured heavily in the I Don't Hear A Single Best Albums of 2019. Their third album doesn't really move the goalposts, it doesn't need to, but it does develop their career further.

The Brooklyn quartet are masters of intelligent left field pop. They are very much The Sugarplastic for the next generation. Few have ever matched our beloved Sugarplastic, but Onesie do. The vibe and arrangements are certainly there as are the intelligent lyric led songs.

They even have a way of making songs seem simplistic when repeated listens reveal their depth and allow you to marvel at the unusual and unexpected riffs. There will be XTC comparisons and the foursome do sound like a much more electric version of Field Music. 

There are departures too. Morning Warren is all Funk with added Brass and Cash For Trash has an unusually 80s vibe. Rat Island even goes all UK New Wave and is built on a great riff. Another Day In The Experiment even gets all Slacker Rock. 

Cross The Night is not a million miles away from Dream Pop. Live Yuppie Scum is a great name for a song and the slowed down closer is as Rock as this lot get, The 5 and a minute length allows a lot to be packed in, very Mommyheads and just as great, It is epic. 

It is however the minimalism of the likes of Perma Spring, What You Kill and Robocall that appeal most to me. Probably because I am such a Sugarplastic fan, that I am just delighted to hear another band who can do what they did. Album Of The Year Material!

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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I Don't Hear A Single Albums Of The Year 2019 : 51 - 60

It's been difficult to get these choices down to 100. I'm also not a believer in saying one album is better than another. Most of the time you are comparing Apples To Oranges. I'm not a List person, I just think what's the point.

However, for the last couple of years I have compiled Best Of 2019, normally I just said what my favourite album of the year is. I've done it again, because these posts seem so popular and the aim of this Blog is to get exposure (and Sales) for the artists.

There is no meaning or judgement on an album that is Number 1, Number 100 or not on the list. Anything that I review on here, mention on Social Media or play on the Radio Show is as highly recommended.

I would also add that the Top 100 includes albums available as Download Only. To suggest that they are anything less than equal to a Physical release is patently nonsense and omits many wonderful albums.

I will compile a Top 20 of Reissues and Compilations combined after all this is complete. For each album, I've posted a song from it and a link to the review, where you can find further details on how to listen or buy the album.



51 Erk - When Night Meets Day       IDHAS Review








52 Big Nothing - Chris       IDHAS Review









53 Berwanger - Watching A Garden Die       IDHAS Review









54 Cabana Wear - Cabana Wear       IDHAS Review









55 Onesie - Umpteenth       IDHAS Review








56 Mike Adams At His Honest Weight - There Is No Feeling Better      IDHAS Review









57 Matthew Milia - Alone At St. Hugo      IDHAS Review









58 The Warhawks - Never Felt So Good       IDHAS Review








59 The High Strung - Quiet Riots       IDHAS Review







60 Wrinkles - Other Days       IDHAS Review







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Onesie - Umpteenth

I committed to a review per day in June for a number of reasons. Mainly, due to being way behind this year, but also as a reaction to a conversation with someone who asked if I cover anything bar Power Pop. I would strongly suggest that the person looks more into what IDHAS does to realise that I Don't Hear A Single celebrates a lot more than that.

Throughout this first week, I think you've already seen the variance on offer and as we reach Onesie, I think you can hear here what is the real love of my life. That is Angular, Clever, Left Field Pop that sits somewhere between Psych Pop and Pop Rock. Onesie are definitely that and Umpteenth is an absolute stormer of an album.








The Brooklyn quartet offer up a wonderful mix of songs that evoke memories of the much missed The Sugarplastic. It must be in the "Ben's" for Ben Eshbach read Onesie main man, Ben Haberland. I could mention XTC, but too many do.


A starting point would be Would You Be My Goon? These three and a half minutes sum up Onesie perfectly. A multitude of ideas and chord changes are present without ever losing the point of the song. Generally, the album's lyrics focus on the mundane whilst surrounding these words with incredibly original arrangements.






You have the Fuzz Rock of  Legacy Act, yet Coin Op has undertones of Devoto era Buzzcocks. Customers is a mix of The Futureheads and 90's College Riff Rock. Final Days Of Nineteen is pure Sugarplastic, Vanity Plates has a Jonathan Richman drawl with a killer hook. Have you got the gist yet? Across these 11 songs there is so much variety and each has so many ideas fighting to get out.

The real thing that shines through is the lyrical excellence of these gems, the unexpected couplets are many and manage to heighten your enjoyment of Umpteenth. I have embedded three songs to hopefully underline how great the albums is. To be honest I could have chosen any, the album is that good.






This album will be high up on my Best Of 2019 list. It's an incredibly good album, one of the best things that I've heard in ages. You can listen to and buy the album here. The Vinyl release is a bargain 15 dollars and the Cassette is a ridiculous 5 dollars.


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