Since 2011, Toronto’s Odonis Odonis has been full of all sorts of experimental ideas in their darkwave, synthwave, electronic sounds. No Pop continues that trend with a darker exploration, where synth and electronic drums dominate the chilling, sometimes intimidating listen.
“Night Beat” gets the album off to a stark beginning with industrial type noises amid a dense atmosphere, and “Check My Profile” follows with a club friendly beat and an ominous tone of throbbing ’80s post-punk. Elsewhere, the setting gets busy with fuzzed out synth on the moody “Nasty Boy,” where manipulated vocals enter the equation, while “One” turns minimalism into a highly refined art with repetitive, hypnotic qualities that are difficult to forget.
Back half highlights include the swift, jagged and seedy “Eraser,” which yields some abrasive vocals, the ambient, tense, and noisy “Tracer,” which floats around a simmering tone, and the breathy “Fluke,” which offers a muscular gothic feeling. Near the end, the eerie “By The Second” brings a haunting backdrop with organs and extremely well done production to highlight the brooding, abstract interplay.
Amazingly, while most bands would take weeks to create a listen this adventurous, No Pop was fleshed out quite quickly by the Odonis Odonis, which is a valid testament to their top notch skill. An aptly titled record, nothing here is suitable for the FM dial, and instead is full of distorted vocals, raw musicianship and unbridled emotion that is equal parts ebullient, cathartic, and apocalyptic.
This fourth album from the now trio of Odonis Odonis shows us electronic sounds in a way not explored enough in today’s indie rock scene, and will absolutely appeal to fans of No Age, Nine Inch Nails, or Liars. Yet another exciting, atypical outfit from Canada, all fans of unorthodox and challenging song craft should take a peek here.
