Five guys, maybe three shirts between them, take to the stage. There’s a banjo, a fiddle, a drum set littered with gas cans, chains, and broken cymbals. Then they all start howling, stomping; it’s an anachronistic jug band party in a junkyard with sing-along hooks and weathered vocals from another time. Their fans, an ever-expanding congregation, sing along and follow the band with an almost religious fervor, and as vocalist Greg Jamie’s eyes roll back into his head there’s a sense that something almost sinisterly spiritual has overtaken everyone in the room. This is the world of O’Death. Originally formed in 2003 while the members attended SUNY Purchase, the band – with Jamie on guitar and vocals, Gabe Darling on banjo, David Rogers-Berry on drums, Jesse Newman on bass, and Bob Pycior on fiddle – self-released their first album in 2004. They quickly took to the task of stirring up a wholly original scene of NY musicians with their reverently twisted take on Americana filtered through a wealth of musical influences as divergent as Bill Monroe, Prince, Dock Boggs, Neil Young, The Microphones, and The Misfits via a series of shows at the now defunct Apocalypse Lounge. As they gathered the songs for their second LP, Head Home, the band perfected their mesmerizing and riotous stage presence and took to turning their share of heads across the country, playing over 100 shows in 2006, and gracing the stage alongside acts including Battles, Dr. Dog, Art Brut, Langhorne Slim, The Big Sleep, and Old Time Relijun. With the re-release of Head Home, the critically acclaimed NY act has created a perfect companion to their spellbinding live show. Part southern gothic spiritual, part moonshine fueled hoedown, these recordings, now presented with new remixes done by the band and Billy Pavone, are a timeless addition to the canon of weird old America. O’Death will be heading out this summer and fall to promote the record in the US and Europe (with City Slang handling the European release). It’s an infectious sound coming your way; unique and wonderfully raw, but with the ability to drop the jaws of even the most jaded music fanatic and leave them testifying to it’s unique power.
http://2008.sxsw.com/music/showcases/band/60569.html
