Review: The Occasion – Self-Titled

THE OCCASION
THE OCCASION

Say Hey Records

From the haunting opening of “The Midwife,” you know you’re being kidnapped and there isn’t anything you can do about it. Hailing from New York and having opened for band as diverse as Interpol, The Unicorns and Franz Ferdinand, The Occasion sound nothing like their surroundings. Where there should be buildings and edgy pop melodies, there is a wasteland of acoustics over tape loops and toy pianos held together by the ever-present drone of the bass. The vocals are constantly changing, both in voice and style, as nearly everyone in the band has the chance to interject. By the time you reach the end of “Annika,” you can’t help but feel a little empty, perhaps slightly abused, but also quite enchanted by the starkness of the journey.

 

This review originally appeared in Glitter Gutter Trash, December 2004, Issue 192.