The anticipation of the release of a new album is always a difficult burden to bear. That burden is only intensified when said album comes from one of your current favorite performing acts. But as the day draws nearer and nearer, questions form in your head of what you will hear versus what you expected, the most important being the following: will the band be able to produce songs that not only avoid a letdown but further advance my interest?
These Arms Are Snakes faced these reservations and with a resounding retort suppressed all possible doubts. Oxeneers or The Lion Sleeps When Its Antelopes Go Home is not only an extension of the sound executed on band's debut effort, but a step beyond the logical progression that was expected.
"The Shit Sisters" begins the album and immediately the trademark guitars of Ryan Frederiksen bring back memories of the numerous live performances I caught of the band. While I am sure someone has used similarly arranged riffs before, it is the tone of the guitars partnered with the rest of the music that evokes so much emotion in the music of These Arms Are Snakes. Tracks such as "Angela's Secret," "Big News," and "La Stanza Bianca" contain similar instrumentations and flow in typical These Arms Are Snakes style, which easily could have placed them on This is Meant to Hurt You.
But a band cannot continue to write and performs songs that lack distinction. There is that need for progression, and These Arms Are Snakes have written songs that are daring but not too far of a departure from their previous material that existing fans will declare them "sellouts." For example, the music of "Your Pearly Whites" is much more reserved as compared to the bulk of the band's material. Instead of constantly relying on distortion heavy riffs, the song is characterized by melodic and soothing guitars that accentuate Steve Snere's sincere vocals. Further illustration can be found in the use of an organ on the album's closer, "Idaho." Keyboards were used sparingly on their debut, but throughout Oxeneers bassist/keyboardist Brian Cook has found a way to insert them without sounding awkward.
Another noticeable difference is that the band has added a few interludes, something that was not present on the band's debut. Interludes and segues are a tricky art, because they could detract from the momentum of the album. Fortunately, these interludes act as brief escapes and help to loosen up an album that may have sounded congested without their presence.
Oxeneers does have its weak points. In particular, "Gadget Arms," a predominately instrumental piece, lacks not only structure but direction. Normally I enjoy experimental pieces such as this, but I have found myself skipping over this track in all the subsequent listens I have made.
These Arms Are Snakes have found a way to please the two musical elitists that dwell in my one body. They have created music that pleases the part of me that loved the songs of their debut and wanted no change as well as the part of me that craved "something new, something more, something daring."
