The slick and shiny indie pop duo
Oppenheimer imploded during the recording of their third album in 2009, only completing a handful of tracks before heading their separate ways. The band and its label weren't content to let the finished tracks sit in the vaults forever, though, and 2012's
This Racket Takes Its Toll rescues them, adds three bonus tracks recorded during the same sessions, and throws in a handful of B-sides and rarities to round it out. The six finished songs display a slightly harder and less glossy sound than the band's two previous albums, with louder guitars, punchier drums, and a more focused punch. Considering that the almost insanely lightweight and candy-sweet sound of those albums was their main selling point, it makes the new tracks a little bit of a letdown. The chipmunk-cheerful hooks the band was so good at writing are mostly gone and darkness seems to be creeping in; songs like the (admittedly super catchy) "Hearts Don't Listen" and "Songs in Semaphore" have a melancholy tinge that's new for the duo. The epic-length "Single Syllable Colours" even makes a case that the band may have been getting serious. It's not a terrible direction for the band to have headed in -- maybe even one that might have worked over a whole album -- it's just different and takes some getting used to. The bonus tracks added sound like they would not have made the final cut; the two originals are pretty slight and the cover of
Charles Douglas' "Earlybird School" is cute, but slight even by
Oppenheimer's standards. More comforting to fans of the first two albums is the batch of tracks added to the new songs, as they all exhibit the bubblegummy, silly sweetness of their best work. "Truth or Dare" and "Getting By" were B-sides from 2006, "Straight Outta Comp'in'" and "We Ride Invisible Rollercoasters" were extra tracks on the Japanese edition of
Take the Whole Midrange and Boost It, and "Getting By" is an unreleased track.
This Racket Takes Its Toll ends up being a nice bookend for fans of the group who felt that
Oppenheimer quit before their time, but also shows that maybe they did quit at the right time. ~ Tim Sendra