Indians & Black Sabbath Review

Danish electro-pop act Indians is live in the Sound Opinions studio. Plus, Black Sabbath are back. Jim and Greg review the 19th studio album from the original masters of darkness.

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Indians

This week Indians is in the studio. It's the alter-ego of Danish artist Soren Juul. He began as a classically trained musician, but was also schooled in pop music by his record-collecting father. So, inspired by unique pop bands like Pink Floyd, he abandoned the classics for synths and a laptop. His viral hit "Magic Kids" caught the attention of critics like Jim and Greg, After retreating to the Danish countryside to write, Soren recorded the songs for Indians' debut release Somewhere Else. He and bandmates Heather Woods Broderick and Laurel Simmons perform songs from the album.

Never Say Die Black Sabbath

13 (Deluxe Version)

For the first time since 1978's Never Say Die, three of the four OG's of metal are back in the studio. Black Sabbath's Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, and Bill Ward practically invented heavy metal in the seventies, Jim says, and on the group's 19th studio album 13, Ozzy, Geezer, and Tony are re-united (Bill's on the outs for business reasons). Do the boys still rock all these years later? Greg's answer is a tentative "yes." Iommi still brings those ten-ton riffs, and the onset of old age means that for once, Ozzy has something substantive to sing about (death). Most important, Black Sabbath doesn't embarrass itself, and for Greg that's worth a Burn It rating. Jim is not as kind. He faults producer  Rick Rubin's over-compression for drowning out Geezer's bass, and whatever the subject matter, Jim insists Ozzy just sounds awful. He suggests Greg take off his rose-colored glasses and see 13 for what it is: a Trash It record.

Greg

Memphis  garage rockers Oblivians recently released their first record in fifteen years, Desperation. Greg's had it on heavy rotation along with the group's post-punk-inspired back catalogue. With two guitars, two chords, and a stripped down drum kit, Greg says Oblivians married punk's "last moment on earth intensity" with Memphis's rock ‘n’ roll tradition. He chooses "Viet Nam War Blues" off the band's 1995 debut album Soul Food for his Desert Island Jukebox pick. It's a Lightnin’ Hopkins cover about a mother whose son goes off to war. Whereas Hopkins brings a jazzy, poetic sensibility to the track, Greg says Oblivians bring rage.

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