Oblio is the recording project of Tulsa, OK-based musician Nicholas Foster. Robot is Oblio’s first release. Playing as a drummer with other artists for years, Foster felt he did not creatively contribute to most of the projects he was involved with; out of a desire to keep from stagnating as a musician, he began recording at home, trying to develop an autonomous creative identity. From these home recordings, Robot emerged, and the project took its name from the misfit main character of Harry Nilsson’s The Point! Oblio draws influence from classic and modern groups with Foster claiming the Beatles and Wilco as inspirations, though the project has a decidedly DIY aesthetic and a rough-hewn charm.
The record opens with “Greyscale” an indictment of the contemporary world’s reduced expectations and mass-market cultural conformity. With a burbling rhythm section somewhat reminiscent of “Come Together” and disaffected vocals about Subarus and building websites, Foster flexes his drummer’s chops and a lovely overdriven guitar for a Black Keys-esque rocker, albeit with a sharper social critique. “Summer ’14” is a bit more in the tradition of ‘90s indie rock acts with plinking mallets cutting through sheets of gorgeous layered guitar fuzz. The mid-tempo swing that kicks in towards the end of the track has a familiar British Invasion-style progression and Foster’s whispery vocals sit just right in the surprisingly broad soundstage. “Walk Away” even further foregrounds the mallet sounds, ditching the guitar and all but an intermittent bass drum for the first two minutes of the song. It’s a scintillating piece, using simple patterns and, eventually, sleigh bells to build a mysterious anticipation. It eventually pays off with rich fuzz bass and some laser sound effects buried in the mix, another sharp left turn on a record full of them. The clearly intentional shambles of “Disengage” punctuated with a wavy Mac DeMarco-like bridge, eventually gives way to “Every Tuesday” a slacker-indie jam with obvious love for Beulah and the like. The dull ennui expressed in the verses, including a “playing Summerteeth on repeat” lyric, runs counter to the brightly melodic chorus, aptly demonstrating the constant cycle of boredom and longing familiar to so many young Midwesterners. “The Distance Between Us” is a ballad with obvious Paul McCartney influence, though enhanced with bizarre sound effects and a gentle guitar break; “The Pretty Dark,” on the other hand, is a nearly-spoken garage rocker in that rich tradition. The splashy guitar and echoey vocals help ground the track, though the dueling leads in the end section do bring the track careening to a halt. It’s another sign of Foster’s best quality as an artist—he has thoroughly digested so much music that his compositions seem more like confident pastiche than a lo-fi lust for glory. “Moving Day” and “Lazybug” share a slow, Wilco-like stomp, but it’s the seven-minute “Lazybug” that really shines. With one of the most open arrangements on the record, it nevertheless implements Wurlitzer electric piano, strident drumming, and a slowly growing chorused guitar in a jammy odyssey that even ends up including a calliope part. It’s Oblio’s “Let It Be” moment, but also something greater; it’s the sound of Foster making good on a rock legacy that he felt he couldn’t access, and it’s a frankly inspiring piece of work from one person alone in a bedroom. Robot is goofy, at times, but it never feels slapdash. Even in its most cacophonous moments, the record feels inhabited with purpose, though that purpose is sometimes as simple as being bored of boredom. Foster may have begun the Oblio project feeling creatively static, but the record he’s delivered shows he’s more than a mere student of rock history—he, too, is an active participant.
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