In the complex world of high school chemistry, you quickly come to find out that there are certain things that simply put are meant to be kept apart and there are other things that when combined don't necessarily send the beaker shattering into a million little pieces of glass propelling at your face. Music is very similar to chemistry in that regard. Take bands for instance. Putting a band like the Backstreet Boys and Metallica in the same recording studio and hoping for the best would be an exercise in futility. However, imagine taking two bands and intertwining the sound and styles of the band into a new sound that is dynamic, fresh and powerful.
Thanks to three members of the band Umphrey's McGee and two band members of OHM music fans are left with what could be considered an altogether new sound with the by-product known as Ohmphrey. If you have never heard the music of Umphrey's McGee or OHM you are not necessarily at a distinct disadvantage because what comes about from the pairing has enough variation from the bands' work alone that the music that Ohmphrey has created is a newer and distinctly different sound.
So the newly created musical project has come together and released a self-titled debut album named Ohmphrey. Though it might be too premature to determine whether or not this project is going to carry on into the future what we can be sure of is that the music that is packed onto this album will not be forgotten anytime soon.
Ohmphrey is comprised of Chris Poland (guitars), Robertino Pagliari (bass), Jake Cinninger (guitars), Joel Cummings (keyboards) and Kris Myers (drums).
It doesn't take very long to come to an understanding that the music of Ohmphrey is going to be markedly different than what each of the bands might have traditionally done on their own. Perhaps it is because I am far more familiar with the music of Umphrey's McGee that I say this but if you are expecting a pure UM experience then you will not find it here. On the track Someone Said You Were Dead the listener is greeted with a much more metal sounding rock and roll rather than the sort of folk rock sound that Umphrey's McGee is traditionally known for. It is not all the in-your-face style of metal rock sounds though since there is a brilliant range of sounds that take it away from just being loud noise and instead transform the music into something great.
The music might swing back more in Umphrey's McGee's direction on the track Ice Cream, however. There is a smoother and more danceable vibe to the track and the guitar really walks the listener through a softer style of rock on this track. There is a bit more of a jazz sounding twang here and there thrown into this track and the keyboard really comes into play nicely on this track. Though like the rest of the album vocals are not present on the track, the listener almost gets a certain sort of lounge music rock and roll feel from the vibe that is present within the dynamic instrumentation available on the track.
For anyone who might have musical ADD and think that Stairway to Heaven is just too long, hold onto your socks with the track Shrooms ‘N Cheese. Coming in at over fifteen minutes of pure and unadulterated music, the track again carries the Umphrey's McGee banner of being almost Phish reminiscent in terms of the music that comes out on the track. With a paced and very methodical approach to the track, Ohmphrey allows the music to work itself out on the track and though the track itself might be lengthy in nature the music is not lost in the amount of time that goes by. There is a nice melody of all the right parts on this track with the guitar being allowed to explore a bit, the percussion holding its own and pacing the music on the track and the keyboard providing an element of uniqueness not just to this track but to what the music of Ohmphrey is all about.
Track listing:
•1. Someone Said You Were Dead •2. The Girl from Chi Town •3. Denny's By the Jail •4. Ice Cream •5. Lake Shore Drive •6. Not Afraid of the Dark •7. Shrooms ‘N Cheese •8. What's the Word, Thunderbird
Ohmphrey sort of reminds me of that old wedding saying about something old, something new leaving out the something blue. The music of Umphrey's McGee and OHM was good enough to stand on its own and certainly the following of the two bands would not have suffered had they chosen not to collaborate on the Ohmphrey project. Rather, a small amount of risk might have been inherently present in this project should the project have fallen on its face and simply put not worked. However, each group was able to bring a certain element of what their music is all about and like clay on a potter's wheel mold it into an end product that is a work of art.
Ohmphrey is on the Magna Carta record label. For more information about Ohmphrey, check out their website at http://www.magnacarta.net/ohmphrey/ohmphrey.html.
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