Nick Bairatchnyi and Jackson Mansfield have been making music together since they were teenagers, which wasn't too long ago. After graduating high school and a move to Philadelphia from Washington, D.C., they locked into The Obsessives' sound, informed by the yelping and dexterous emo of Braid with a touch of Pixies. But with the duo's self-titled sophomore record produced by Evan Bernard and Chris Baglivo at Big Mama's, they expand a keen knowledge of '90s indie-rock with pop hooks that bum rush the amp stacks.
"It's OK If" is a short and sweet love song with chunky guitars and early rock 'n' roll drumming that swings, ever-so-slightly. It's Weezer by way of Pixies, augmented by candy-coated bursts of Beatles-y la la la's, and this very cute love letter of a line: "I like your lips / They look like something Botticelli would've wanted to paint back when the moon first put us to sleep." Corrinne James, who also did the artwork for the record and directed the fun music video for "Surfer Rosa," sings backup vocals.
The Obsessives comes out March 17 on Lame-O, Bandcamp, Dog Knights (U.K.), Cooking Vinyl (Australia). The Obsessives go on tour with Modern Baseball starting March 17.
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