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Oberhofer lies at the tipping point of joy and nostalgia. A lighthearted air flows above the mushy blend of faded drums, shoddy guitar, plethora of quirky instruments and weak voice. Before you write Brad Oberhofer – the obvious namesake of this four piece band – off, consider this:
1) his first recordings were done in an NYU dorm room,
2) he has now signed with Glassnote Records (Phoenix, Mumford & Sons, and Childish Gambino are on their 12 band roster), which head Daniel Glass is ecstatic about and
3) he’s 19 and already tugging at the heartstrings of every listener with his lo-fi indie-infused synth-pop.
If that’s not enough, then give him a listen and the negative connotations of shoddy, quirky and weak will disappear.
On their Facebook page, Oberhofer – made up of Pete, Matt, Dylan and Brad – states they’re from “New York via Tacoma” and after one listen, it makes sense. There’s relatable lyrics and strong melody lines (often the guitar and synth match the line) that’s required for a band to succeed in New York. Then there’s an interesting instrumentation and unique song structure that only a place like Tacoma, Washington could produce. Although Brad’s voice is given the same weight as the other instruments, it doesn’t become one of them – the instruments take a similar tonality and melody during the breaks.
The longing lies within his lyrics. “You’re pushing me away from you/ and there’s nothing I can do/ I can’t fight all of your battles for you” is then responded to with the repeated “I’ll get you out of my mind” as the chorus of his most popular track “Away Frm U”. It’s a nagging, haunting melody filled with tempo-pushing heavy snare and cymbal layered under Brad’s wheezy voice. Brad’s frontman prowess shines when he takes a section and whistles it – affected then doubled by the synth of course. Just the very range of his voice screams talent, but Oberhofer’s acoustic computerized sound is where their true aptitude exists. It’s unplugged synth music – as oxymoronic as that sounds– because there are obvious filters and effects on every piece of this band, but they maintain a down-to-Earth, acoustic timbre.
Their self-titled EP has already made a big splash and their full length Time Capsules II is due for release March 27th. In fact, I had trouble picking my favorite tracks to display for you, they’re all gems.
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