Review / 200 Words Or Less
The Oswald Effect
Love & Sabotage

Independent (2008) Sean K.

The Oswald Effect – Love & Sabotage cover artwork
The Oswald Effect – Love & Sabotage — Independent, 2008

This looked promising when it first showed up in the mail. But as some wise person once said, looks can be deceiving. This Seattle four-piece certainly have their chops together, but the styles presented here are such a mish mash that it's hard to swallow. Musically they are rocking enough, but vocally I just couldn't get into them. The singer sounds like a cross between the dude from Shudder to Think and those guys in Muse. Considering that Muse's singer just blatantly tries to sound like Thom Yorke, that's not a good start. In a roundabout way, I'm trying to spit it out that I'm just not a fan of the vocals. But maybe you will end up digging Love & Sabotage, but this is definitely not something I'll ever slide into the player again.

2.0 / 10Sean K. • February 25, 2009

The Oswald Effect – Love & Sabotage cover artwork
The Oswald Effect – Love & Sabotage — Independent, 2008

Recently-posted album reviews

Opus Kink

The Sweet Goodbye
So Recordings (2026)

ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS – “Come Over, Do Me Wrong”, “The Sweet Goodbye”, “I Have to Shine My Sunday Shoes”, “Crucify!” Opus Kink sound like nobody else. To call them “jazz punk” is to massively oversimplify it. In fact, there’s not much traditionally “punk” about them. If anything, it’s “noise rock”, but with traces of almost every other genre you could name. … Read more

Sludgeworth

Second Time Around
Red Scare Industries (2026)

I never got very into Screeching Weasel and the extended family tree. Ignoring the politics of the matter, the music never really hit that sweet spot for me either. But Sludgeworth were an exception. The band released just one album, that I discovered at least 10years after its release, but seemingly disappeared -- only to resurface after a 2022 reissue … Read more

Social Distortion

Born to Kill
Epitaph (2026)

Rating: 🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🚬 / 10 (8 Tipped Martini Glasses and a Cigarette) Remember that movie Fantastic Voyage, where a miniaturized submarine gets inserted into a person's bloodstream on a mission to clear a blood clot in the brain? Well, consider yourself in luck: I’m infiltrating your brain with my own fantastic journey with Social Distortion, which goes all the way back … Read more