OOIOO
Gamel
Thrill Jockey Records
Led by Boredoms drummer Yoshimi P-We (as in the Flaming Lips’ Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots), this Japanese experimental band has gleefully mixed tribal chanting, polyrhythmic percussions, and elements of rock music together for irreverent psychedelic effect since the ’90s. The press release says that this album is inspired by the Indonesian style of music known as gamelan, but in the end this album sits squarely among OOIOO’s catalog. Is it world music? Is it art rock? Is it all a giant joke? Who knows and who cares — you’re either going to find OOIOO to be a lot of fun or pure torture.
