Overdrive II Oblivion - Red Shift Tape Vol. 1
Self-released
Released on July 5th, 2025
I don’t know much about desert rock, but based on the dozens of times awful dudes have talked at me at some sketchy party at 4am about it, I think this is it. At least a little. It’s also surfy and spacey. It’s doomy. It’s poppy! And catchy! And scary. Like, it would scare my mom. Maybe I like desert rock! Maybe this isn’t it at all. Shit.
The first 24 seconds of side one of Red Shift Tape Vol. 1, the first tape from Overdrive II Oblivion, leaves an impression. For those 24 seconds, there is nothing but bass. At 0:01, the track begins abruptly with a bassline that is filthy dirty. It feels like the track starts in the middle of an idea. It’s heavy. Like, HEAVY. Heavy and rough. Jagged and uneven. Imperfect. It’s relentless and tone-setting. It’s 24 seconds and it feels like forever. Every second of it is rustic and beautiful.
At the 25 second mark, a guitar joins in while the bass retreats to catch its breath. The guitar is immediate and striking. It’s Link Wray dreaming about a post-apocalypse future . For the next 35 seconds, the guitar sings and howls. It’s unpolished and very cool. At the one minute mark, it all changes again. Tough drums join in. Real tough stuff. Loud and strong. The bass recovers and starts pummelling my ears. The guitar starts riffing. Reverby and squealing. This continues for 9ish minutes. That’s track one. It’s called “Betelgeuse Annihilates” and it’s a ferocious way to start an album. A nine minute instrumental banger? Jesus.
Track two, “On and On We Float”, is where the vocals come in and the whole thing is pure psychedelia. Trippy vocals bubble to the top, over loads of experimental guitar. Johnny Echols style stuff. The bass spars playfully with the guitar and the drums drive the whole thing. The drums are understated and powerful.
I can’t go through each track. That would be crazy. The first two songs set the tone for the whole thing. If you develop a taste for the flavors of these two, then you’ll understand the rest. It’s not same-y or repetitive. The first two songs just show you what’s in the cupboard, and Overdrive II Oblivion make seven truly unique meals out of those ingredients.
It’s a physical record that is a bit headachy. It’s unrelenting. My headphones feel like they are getting tighter. It occasionally makes my stomach feel weird. Other moments unscrew the top of my head and all the stress evaporates out of the hot wetness of my brainhouse. There are moments of calmness buried in the intensity, and it makes it easy to get lost in the whole thing. It breathes tension in and out of me equally. It’s Deep Purple meets Eat Skull. It’s Tad, early Alice Cooper and The Melvins. It’s Saint Vitus and Man or Astro-man?. It’s doom-surf and stoner-psych. It’s desert rock, maybe. I’ll never know.
