When I found out I was being sent a CD entitled Black Mambas I was curious as to whether the cover art would be a snake or an enormous dildo. Thankfully it was not the latter.
Without even reading anything about them, you can tell that O Pioneers!!! publicly espouse a very DIY stance on everything. And you can see why, because they’re quite good at it the folk-punk sound that goes along with it. Along with some great tongue-in-cheek song titles (‘I heard that new Ashlee Simpson record is pretty killer’; ‘We have friends (I promise)’) this gives you a great sense of a band who know exactly what they’re doing and where they’re pitched.
Screams seem to be pitched a little toward the throatier end of the scale, rather than the stomach, which works very nicely in tandem with the quick folky strumming on a clean guitar and the lack of bass. Stripped down, baring all, and proud of it. That said, you are drawn in by the hoarseness of the vocals. Gruff isn’t the right word – they’re well beyond that and they really are very strained. I kind of liked this, as it provides a centre point for your concentration which I think is fairly essential in a band of this sort of minimalistic ilk. Drums are fairly non-descript, yet adequate, which, as said, I feel is appropriate considering the overall style at work here.
This certainly isn’t for all tastes, but those of you who like the idea of a screamier, folkier Against Me! crossed with the sound of One Reason, or perhaps the vocal trappings in acts like Funeral Diner set against a folk-punk backdrop, this could be one little outfit for you to check out.