Ominosity

Artist: Milemarker
Label: Eyeball
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 637872004623
EAN: 0637872004623
ASIN: B000B6TRKM

Release Date: 2005-10-25

Ominosity

Related Categories:

General

| Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Emo

| Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General

| Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock

| Pop | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Killed on Public Transit
Food Chain
Pornographic Architecture
Deserted
Sun Out
Landlord
Virutal Sex
Rambler
Rivers of Blood
Hydrochondria

Similar Items:

Anaesthetic
Satanic Versus
Frigid Forms Sell

Customer Reviews:

Too good to be this obscure........2006-02-26

Bands this original and fearless deserve recognition. Even in the underground, Milemarker is unfortunately all but unknown. And while fearlessness in songwriting can produce monumental ear garbage, this band creates highly addictive stuff. Top 40 radio boasts way too many paint-by-the-numbers punk bands that sprinkle new wave on top cuz it's cool, and vice versa. Unlike all those soon to be forgotten bands, Milemarker started fusing the two styles to the point where you can't tell where one begins and the other ends--in the nineties! Now, their sound has evolved to a point where they are truly a subgenre unto themselves. Even better, each of their releases is uniquely different from all of the others, yet still undeniably Milemarker.
Their latest, Ominosity, is their first in a few years. Coming back from hiatus--which many independent, small-time bands never do--they are missing a key component, Roby Newton, the former keyboardist, vocalist and enthusiastic nutbag during their live performances. I regret I never saw them play while she was in the band and wish her well in her marriage and (relatively) new band, Weather. But the album still rocks in all the right places. Though not quite their best, on account of rustiness and a new lineup, it's more than a worthy effort that has logged many, many hours on stereo. Buy this, and be sure to snag Anaesthesia and Frigid Forms Sell. You won't regret it.

booya!.......2005-11-22

yes, Yes, YES... that's all i was thinking when i first heard this album. all the songs are well thought out and executed beautifully. much more aggressive than recent albums (reminiscent of frigid forms sell, and even future isms) but with epic song structures (ala anaesthetic). probably the biggest surprise was return of ben davis to the fold. yes it's true, newton is not in the mix... but, with the resurfacing of davis it leaves me thinking "roby who?" old fans should not be disappointed, and new comers will hop on the milemarker wagon.

Bring back Roby!.......2005-11-08

A couple of years ago, Chicago's Milemarker released "Anaesthetic," an album of such stunning beauty that one could scarcely believe it. A mixture of Fugazi-style post-hardcore, new wave synths and a healthy dollop of art rock, it was graceful and stately even while rocking your brains out. That was followed by an EP, "Satanic Versus," which further refined their style and made me look forward to their next effort with baited breath (their live show was also incredible). After a protracted period of silence, including some side projects (Challenger, Des Ark), they finally got themselves back into the studio. Unfortunately, singer/keyboardist Roby Newton had departed, leaving Dave Laney and Al Burian as the core of the group. This resulted in a certain lack of, for want of a better term, grrrl power, but I remained confident they could pull it off. I'm deeply sorry to report this is not the case.

While "Ominosity" has many compelling moments and a welcome desire to try different styles, this is not the same Milemarker I came to love. What's worse, this new version of Milemarker is not very interesting. The new wave elements, which made a great counterpoint to the guitar crunch, are largely gone (though "Food Chain" does have a keyboard line reminiscent of Gary Numan). So too are any real sense of direction. Songs build up but go nowhere fast. The vocals are delivered mostly in a hoarse shout that comes off as generic hardcore. "Deserted" attempts a bit of soul, but ends up as merely annoying. Worse yet, not much of it is very memorable. While "Rambler" is a credible attempt at a blues/hardcore fusion, songs with intriguing titles like "Killed On Public Transit" and "Pornographic Architecture" leave no impressions at all.

There are bright spots, though. "Sun Out" is as dark as it's title indicates, and musically powerful, surging forward on guitar/keyboard interplay and the new addition of a second drummer. The piano driven closer, "Hydrochondria" is quiet and effective. Lyrics remain the band's strong suit. Paranoia abounds: "Something in the water is poisoning me/If they can add fluoride, why not lysergic acid diethylamide?/ Why not cyanide?" ("Hydrochondria"); "They revoked his driver's license and eventually just declared him totally useless and had him put to death" ("Killed On Public Transit"). Milemarker are sometimes just as much activists as band; "Rivers of Blood" suggests "fill all the rivers with blood/fill up your veins with oil," a fairly direct antiwar statement which concludes with the nihlistic "the world spins, it all ends when the dying are dead."

Music Album:

Music Album

Music Album

Music CD

Exploration ~ Grachan Moncur III

Pike's Peak ~ Dave Pike

In the Now ~ Cindy Blackman

Music CD 33

Free at Last ~ Mal Waldron

La Dura Legge del Gol! ~ 883

To Ligado Em Voce ~ Sandy & Junior

Ciao ~ Lucio Dalla

Mojo V.3: Lucy Kent ~ Various Artists

Choice Chimurenga ~ Thomas Mapfumo