2.09.2010

Oberhofer :: "I Could Go"

There is a restrained mania to Oberhofer's "I Could Go." Buzzing synths, a haunting whistle and air-puffed drum-loops finally give way to an ebullient rain of chimes, and all of this is before we've heard word-one from vocalist Bradley Oberhofer. The arrangement is borrowed from the Win Butler school with different aesthetic choices place-holding for the Arcade Fire's orchestral pop. Or maybe more accurately, this is post-apocalyptic orchestral pop, with all the electronic influences of a digital age, but the human howl of Oberhofer finding its way into the song's final third. The singular suggestion of the narrative is in the haunting chorus, the arrangement collapsing and changing around Oberhofer as he indicates that he could go, he could go, he could go ... away. It is truly the contest between the planned and the unexpected that makes "I Could Go" so moving - the sound of pop music being let outside, taken off the leash, and left to do battle with the electric fence at the edge of the yard.

Listen :: Oberhofer - "I Could Go" [zshare click through]
Listen :: Oberhofer - "Haus" [zshare click through]

2 comments:

phoebeplagens said...

this song has been playing in my head since sunday morning

32feet said...

it is one of the more undeniable things i've come across.