Review Summary: O Lucky Man! has brought to the table an insanely fun album that shows a lot of potential.
O Lucky Man! is a duo from Berkeley, California. After some personnel changes, the band found a solid lineup in Bernie Gelman (guitar, vocals) and Kevin Stewart (drums, Fender Rhodes). The lineup’s debut release, “when I was young I would type your name just to see it in front of me”, was self-released on CD-R in December of 2008. The band’s style is of familiar origin, stemming from the Chicago math-rock scene of the mid-nineties that has been popularized as of late. Gelman can’t keep his fingers still for too long; his playing is angular, often utilizing the entire fretboard twice over in the span of a two-minute ditty. His hybrid picking style combined with the different tunings utilized make for a fresh new sound in an often stagnant scene. Stewart, a maverick behind the kit and keys setup putting Nate Kinsella to shame, plays technically while contrastingly zipping in jazzy accents and fills to loosen things up and help the groove. His piano playing is often juxtaposed with the guitar in a melodic frenzy, giving the listener much to decipher. The two players converge together to create an insanely fun and sporadic sound, albeit cluttered, that manages to be accessible to the average listener, something that many of their contemporaries could take a hint from. However, O Lucky Man! truly shines as a whole when they lay back and ride a simple 4/4 groove. “How Not To Pay For Parking” exemplifies this to the best extent and serves as a well-deserved break from all the chaos. “when I was young…” is quite promising and leaves no doubt that O Lucky Man! will be raising the ears of independent rock listeners across the country.
