The self-titled album from Oddfellows was a long time coming.
As in, the band formed in 1994. Now in 2026, they return with founding members Chris Pulliam, Mark Ryan, and Mike Throneberry, plus new addition Peter Salisbury to release their debut album just 32 years later.
This lineup means you're going to get a Marked Men reference right away, but to be honest this project feels quite distinct. It's less caffeinated than Marked Men, more poppy than Mind Spiders, more chill than Radioactivity. It's definitely steeped in garage rock guitar and song structure, but I'd argue Oddfellows is as much a power pop band as anything with a hyphenated garage reference. All the songs are very clean, with the vocals often taking a slightly gothic delivery. That relaxed delivery is a perfect partner with the upbeat rhythms.
"The Burden" is probably the best example of that style, and it's followed by the somber "Yeah Yeah Yeah" -- another contrast in moods with a positive-sounding title and a ballad-esque tone. "I Hate Rules" has me thinking of Lookout! Records a little bit (a reworked song by The Reds). There's a punky element that never takes it into sneering or angst-based songs, but Oddfellows has tangible urgency to it. Like almost every record I listen to, I also pick up some Ramones influence.
The multi-vocalist approach helps to avoid the constant comparisons to other bands, of course. When Ryan sings on "It Kills," I'm immediately back in namedrop mode, though most of the Oddfellows record is handled by Pulliam (I think). Hell, even the lengthy jam (by my standards) at the end of "They Wanna Die" is gold. It's very consistent, whoever is on the mic, but I'll pick out "I Burned Your Lawn," "Dumb Enough," and the super chill "Yeah Yeah Yeah" as a few personal favorites.
While the band is something of a resurrection, they live in the present. Most of the subject matter is universal and timeless, but I have to assume the lyrics to "You'll Never Get To Mars" are about a certain social media personality billionaire we can't escape.
