Music
21 Oct 01

Anthem Of The Moon

There may not be any male models in the ranks, but in terms of kick ass rock ‘n’ roll, Oneida are pretty much flawless.

It may be Julian Casablancas’ mob who are selling truck-loads of records on the other side of the Atlantic, but ask N.Y. indie kids who they’re into and far more will say Oneida than The Strokes.

Operating out of Brooklyn, the quartet have eschewed The Big Apple’s increasingly stagnant club scene in favour of D-I-Y one-offs in churches, art galleries and meat-packing factories.

The Warholian vibe extends to bassist Hanoi Jane (not his real name) whose penchant for cross-dressing has won them the support of the city’s lads of the nights.

The music’s just as sleazily exotic with Anthem Of The Moon suggesting that their current listening includes The Velvets, Suicide, Hawkwind and The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.

Noisy and bleepy they may be, but the likes of ‘All Arounder’ and ‘Geometry’ display a pop sensibility that may yet propel them into the mainstream.

Elsewhere there are touches of ‘60s psychedelia (‘Still Remembering Hiding In The Stones’); Residents-style weirdness (‘Ballad Of Impervium’); and Pistolian rifferama (‘Double Lock Your Mind’).

There may not be any male models in the ranks, but in terms of kick ass rock ‘n’ roll, Oneida are pretty much flawless.