Album review: ONWARD CHARIOTS – This Is My Confession

Ben Morss sure knows his stuff when it comes to music, and with his band, Onward Chariots, he shows off his immense knowledge in the form of the indie extravaganza “This Is My Confession”.

It’s hard to get into the album first time listening to it; the vocals sound uncomfortable if you’re not familiar with falsetto harmonies, so it takes a few listens before you can start to appreciate the music as a whole. Needless to say, most of the songs are of an acquired taste anyway, so if you don’t like the opening tracks, the likeliness is you won’t enjoy the rest of the album.

“This Is My Confession” doesn’t sit steady in one genre, but instead jumps in and out of them; it goes from the jazzy sounds in “Sisters and Brothers” and “I Just Met a Girl” to the quirky “Mama”, which sounds like it would fit nicely into a Wes Anderson film. Onward Chariots even opts for a post-punk style in “I Want Everything” followed by the vocal heavy and sweet sounding “How Could I?” – A strange mix that somehow works.

All in all, “This Is My Confession” is clearly trying to boast its brilliant musical achievements, but despite being technically musically complex, parts of the album don’t work together as well as hoped – which isn’t a surprise considering the vast range of musical genres that crossed over. It might be a bit much for a single record but there are some really strong tracks in the mix, and the last thing you can expect is a straight up indie record.

***
Samaa Husain

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)