It’s a bold move for any band to call their album ANTHEM OF THE MOON, in obvious reference to the Dead’s classic ANTHEM OF THE SUN, but one thing Brooklyn's Oneida has never lacked is guts, making them one of the few bands that can pull off anything so brazen.
ANTHEM is more straightforward than much of Oneida's material, flaunting a louder, broader, and brawnier side. Drumming wunderkind Kid Millions contributes his relentless tumble over expansive synth lines provided by Fat Bobby, and a wail of sublime cacophony from guitarists Baby Jane and Papa Crazee. The quartet quiets down and shows its ample delicate side in the urgent, poignant 16th-note stutter of “Rose and Licorice,” while the penultimate “To Seed and Flower” offers a much-needed respite from the exhilarating racket of the rest of the album. It's a standout track, and sounds more like a lost Sebadoh song than a misplaced slab of stoner psych from 1972. The album’s finale (just one of the band’s many epics), the 12-minute “Double Lock Your Mind,” finds Oneida strutting their considerable stuff with furious guitar riffing and frenetic drumming, hinting at the tone of their masterpiece to be released the following year.