Brad Oberhofer, lead singer and songwriter for the indie rock band Oberhofer, wrote the first version of their new album, Chronovision (out 10/9 on Glassnote Records) in Seattle. But then he scrapped the whole thing. What the audience heard last night at Great Scott and what you’ll hear on his new album later this week is the result of rewriting everything in Tacoma, LA, NYC, and on tour over the past couple of years. In a quick conversation before his show last night, Brad said, “I’ve always felt that I’m relatively unaffected by the place that I’m living in but I think I’m affected by the culture.”
When I think of Oberhofer’s first album, Time Capsules II, I immediately think of a heavy dose of glockenspiel, coupled with a copious amount of “Ooohs.” Brad says there are definitely “weird sounds and weird ideas” on Chronovision, but also that, “this record is more composed and fully formulated ideas. This album needed to be this way.”
After writing a completely new album, Brad still felt like he had a lot more to give. He started writing short songs for people, anyone who would ask him to really. So far he’s written about 400 short songs and theme tunes, which he uploads to soundcloud and posts to instagram when he can. “I have like 1400 more I need to write,” he said. “Some of those ideas will probably make it [into full songs].”
Last night’s show at Great Scott was more than I was hoping for. It’s been a while since Oberhofer’s last show in Boston, and they really put on a great one. Openers Honduras, a rock group from Brooklyn, put on an energetic set with really fresh songs with maybe a hint of The Strokes and power chords with a punk edge. Their new album, Rituals (Black Bell Records), was just released, and has a lot to offer. They’re full of energy and it’s easy to tell that their recorded music is really meant to be heard live.
Oberhofer and Honduras have been on tour for the past couple of weeks, which means their acts are really solid by the time they got to Boston. There’s a DIY ethos to Oberhofer, easy to pick up visually with their hand-painted drum head (which is missing a vowel at the end of OBERHOFER–could it be because of poor spacial planning or artistic license?) or the miniature animal figurines glued to Brad’s pedal board. But you can also sense it in their music. Before the show, Brad mentioned that the theme of their first album, Time Capsules II, was “improvise everything.” And while that still may not be the case, you can tell that that spirit of improvisation and living in the moment make their performances so unmistakable and unmissable.
Oberhofer’s new songs, like “Memory Remains,” sounded like a natural next level up from their classics like “Away Frm U” and “Haus.” Their intro to “Haus” really mixed up with set, with primal yelps and quick bursts of sound to shake up the crowd. Brad started to tear down the house in the middle of the set by performing a song from the middle of the crowd, and then again at the end of their set, by bringing the drum kit to the front of the stage to stand on and swing from the lighting rig to bid us adieu.
For a Monday night, this was a great show. And for any day of the week, this was still a great show. Nothing ever felt like it was dragging, and it definitely felt like it was over way too soon. But at midnight, the house lights came on and Brad Oberhofer took his wireless guitar and weaved through the crowd to make his way to the merch table, resuming his humble off-stage persona.
