A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Empty Bottles LP by BOGOs. Strictly on the face of it, it’s really, really easy to mistake The BOGOs in general – and their Empty Bottles album in specific – as a novelty. Before listeners hear a note of music from the album, a story has already been told by the glaringly bright and garish color scheme which dominates the album’s artwork and is neatly supported by the collection of liquor bottles on the front cover, the cut-out photos of the band’s members on the back cover and the list of song titles which includes “Hide In A Hole,” “Head Through The Wall” and “Dishwasher Blues.” When the music plays, there’s more than a little novelty about it too; in part because of the kinetic energy put into the music as well as singer Ädu Bogo’s thick accent and the fact that the members of this very European band have chosen to name themselves in a very Ramones sort of way, comparisons to everyone’s favorite and longest-lived original New York punk band as well as to Gogol Bordello are very easy to make and might cause them to take the music pretty lightly – but doing so is unwise. In fact, what listeners will discover they’re getting from BOGOs and Empty Bottles is an album which doesn’t just suggest that it deserves attention in some coy or contrived way, both the band and the music they make here commands it.
After needle catches groove and “Farewell To E Morricone” wordlessly sets the tone for the album with some passably on-key whistling, surfy, vibrato-touched guitar and some startlingly solid banjo pickin’, listeners may have to stifle some dubious smirks but, when the drums lock in anf push the song into gear, listeners’ mindset will spontaneously shift with it. Suddenly, about thirty-seconds in, the minor chords and a rhythm which never flinches again redeem the cut as well as listeners’ first impressions, and bait their interest before the cut closes, and will have them waiting to see where the band is going with this.
…And does the band ever reward listeners’ patience as soon as “Hide In A Hole” opens with a title chant. There, all the elements which were really only previously implied push right into listeners’ collective face as singer/guitarist Ädu Bogo (yes, like The Ramones and lots of other bands before them, BOGOs have all taken the same surname) begins to show listeners his nervous, melodic strength, and the band (Andri on banjo, Ritchu on bass and Mitchu on drums – each answering to Bogo) amps up their speed and volume in order to show listeners that this sound can work well without a whole lot of effort. Unlike bands of a similar stripe, BOGOs prove that they even get better the louder and looser they go as “Head Through The Wall” there, Ädu tries to recall what could have happened the night before as he counts missing teeth and mistakes he made but has no intention of correcting amid joyful punkabilly strains which skip any extras like solos or a bridge and just dig in before powering out. The results are excellent for the right sensibility; while some may criticize the band for being a little under-developed as they blast forward without much follow-through (read: the song goes nowhere – and does it at an incredible speed in a “Hey – look what we can do!” kind of way, while omitting a lot of the content usually required to make a great song) but, SOMEHOW, the band makes it work and keeps listeners sustained.
While BOGOs throw out a few other throwaway songs as the side progresses (“Can’t Take It” lives down to its name), they also manage to land a solid hits, through the side. Particular standouts include “Protection,” which sounds moodier than you’d expect coming from any kind of punk band, and “Whiskey and a Cigar,” which really goes out of its way to articulate every sound and every note as it digs its way along [I honestly had to check the speed on my turntable because the speed sounded off, at first – but, before long, listeners realize that the band is going out of its way to almost sound over-articulated without sounding like it’s dragging its feet –ed].
It’s funny but, while the side seems to go out of its way to cover as many sonic bases as it can within the span of eight songs, it also seeks to close on an “up” note. Similar to how the A-side opened, “Dishwasher Blues” closes the side with a really smooth and speedy blast. There, BOGOs go out of their way to make it feel like a conclusion as both the music and vocal melody tightly rock out closing sounds very similar to “Merry-Go-Round Broke Down” [the closing to every Warner Bros. Cartoon, for those who don’t know –ed]. For his part, Ädu BOGO adds greater fire to that sense of finality with the lines, “Last Friday night, I had my first job/ I was playing in a bar, next to a barbershop/ But I run out of gas, for my ride back home/ I had to washing dishes, the whole night long” which leaves an even mix of humor and heartache as an aftertaste, but that flavor will also leave listeners waiting by their turntables to catch the end of the side and flip the record seamlessly – so none of the sensation gets left to get stale.
The B-side of Empty Bottles answers the heartache leftover at the close of the album’s A-side by opening with some great tension in the title track. While the song’s mix leaves a little to be desired (the song itself may remind some listeners of NOFX’s Pump Up The Valuum and War on Errorism period in styling, but is missing Ryan Greene’s talents as producer to really get the sound over – so, instead, listeners start to feel good about what they’re hearing but, frankly, not quite good enough. Luckily though, “Liar” recoups the ground that the album’s title track lost by going back to the band’s comfort zone with rockabilly guitars and banjo blazing before “Money” more clearly shows off the quality in Ädu’s vocals without factoring in more rasp than necessary. The sum of those successes make the absolutely repugnant turn that “Patriot Song” takes (this critic has had more than his fill of flag-waving bullshit – regardless of the colors on the flag – which flies contrarily to the anti-establishment stance that punk has taken, at its best, anyway) forgivable only as far as listeners are willing to forget about it – which sort of holds the late-playing of the B-side together until the side closes. Granted, it can’t be denied that the sadder and more laden tone of “Going Down” illustrates another tone that BOGOs are capable of producing well enough, the problem is just that the second half of the B-side just disperses too wide, and the weaker songs are more memorable than the strong ones.
So, standing back from it after listeners have run front-to-back with it, one must trying to figure out what the consensus is for the Empty Bottles LP, the easiest way to say it is to say that it’s a respectable effort – because it’s BOGOs’ first album, they’re trying a little of everything to see what’ll work, and the results on this album of what does and does not. If they reappear with another offering, here’s hoping that they learned some lessons from this release and showcase that. Simply said, Empty Bottles does have promise – but they’ll have to work to better realize it next time, no matter how far the band might want to repel away from that spirit. [Bill Adams]
Artist:
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Album:
BOGOs’ Empty Bottles LP is out now. Buy it here, from Voodoo Rhythm Records.
