Reptar  – Oblangle Fixx Y’all
Quality Fauct / Make Records Not Bombs
May 31, 2011

What It Sounds Like:  Go ahead and smash up some fun indie pop goodness with the  psych of MGMT, the quirk of Vampire Weekend, the energy of Cold War Kids, and the electro-pop of Foster The People.  You may have something close to the debut EP from Reptar.  Maybe a little bit of Man Man in there as well?

And when I wake up in the morning
My breakfast laid out on my bed
Some kind of memory without you, girl
She lives and spins inside my head

Yeah, I been missing lying with you
There’s nothing keeping me alone
I spend a long time with my body, girl
I look for meaning on my own

I never meant to hurt you, yeah
No, I never meant to blame
Did you have a reason, darling
Or was it just the shame?

Reptar is about taking everything but the kitchen sink and throwing it into the mix.  Blastoff blasts off with a rustic monk-like chant, backed up with some dance-able guitars and super precise drumming.  It’s indie-pop to get you moving that’s running through the core of lead singer/guitarist Graham Ulicny’s veins, but he’s not afraid of any sort of experimentation.  There’s a plethora of keyboard effects used all through the record, which is the main case-in-point that makes these songs differentiated.  A click of a button, a twinge of a MIDI effect, and a spin of a modulation wheel can give you a completely different sound than what you had cued up previously.  Reptar use this technique more times than you can count, but have it all streamed through a pop-sensibility where they’re not necessarily trying to be experimental  – they do want these songs to be catchy, believe me!  In that same breath, they may not be trying to write Top-40 anthems, but they’re far from trying to be overly hipster and unique unto only themselves.  They certainly have a nice balance going from them here throughout Oblangle Fixx Y’all, and I, for one, appreciate it.

Take Context Clues for example.  It features a sample of a phone ringing in the background that comes and goes throughout the whole song.  Is that stereotypical?  Not at all.  But it’s used sparingly enough that the thought never enters your mind that these guys might be “trying just a bit too hard”.

Stuck In My Id features some of my favorite keyboard effects on this five-song EP.  It has bits of 80s influence that could make the likes of Duran Duran give a small smirk their way.  The guitar lick ain’t nothing new, but I’m a sucker for it.  Cue it up; you’ll see what I mean.

They’ve since released a full length (Body Faucet, Vagrant Records, 2012).  I’ve yet to hear it, but if Oblangle Fixx Y’all is any indication, there are good things to come.

7/10

If you had to listen to two tracks:  Stuck In My Id / Rainbounce

..and yes, if you had to ask, they are named after this dude: