Holton's Opulent Oog - The Problem of Knowledge

  by Andrew Carver

published: 7 / 1 / 2008

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Review

Holton’s Opulent Oog offers up pastoral, psychedelic folk. Then they pop off for a quick nap. A single snare drum tapping out the rhythm and some sad-eyed violin from Roger Proctor introduces the sleepy-voiced Holton on ‘Tab’. It’s the precursor for a lazy Sunday morning album if ever there was one. Holton’s narcoleptic drawl will strike some as warm and gentle and others as hopelessly apathetic. On ‘Once Into The Waves’ – the most energetic tune on the disc - he even sounds a bit like Dylan, or perhaps Leonard Cohen minus the gravel. While it doesn’t sound like anyone on the album is working overtime to grab the listener’s attention, it does have a shambolic charm. The album takes a break from its usual modus operandi for ‘Fountain of Hate’, which adds some spacey electric swoops and bleeps. The band may interest fans of Mojave 3: Ian McCutcheon provides the back-to-basics percussion and Simon Rowe plays bass on a couple of songs and guitar on another. Caroline Banks of Seafood provides accompaniment as offhand as everything else on the brief ‘Hop’. ‘The Problem of Knowledge’ will appeal to some for its easygoing fragility and casual song craft, but unless the listener has a taste for dreamy folk, it may come across as a bit of a snooze.

Track Listing:-

1 Tab
2 Oaki Room
3 Once Into The Waves
4 Dead Flowers
5 Hailed
6 Open Window
7 Hop
8 See You In La La
9 Fountain Of Hate
10 Pour It Out