Skip to content
Hi Sorry State fam! How’s it going? I’m coming off of a gnarly sickness. Possibly food poisoning. The worst has passed, but now I feel all beaten up and worn out. Like the aftermath of a hurricane. I wasn’t going to do a staff pick because my brain doesn’t feel like it’s operating at an appropriate capacity, but I got something cool in the mail and I feel inspired.
My pick this week is the new release by Abi Ooze called Julia’s Apartment! I think they planned to make around 100 copies according to Bandcamp, so I hopped on it, not knowing whether we would be able to get some for the store. We did get a grip of their Forestdale Sessions tape last year and it sold super fast. Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ll be getting the latest release at Sorry State, but not for lack of trying. Even though my copy just came in the mail yesterday, I had already been playing the digital version since it became available. It was love at first listen.
It’s hooky, fuzzy, scuzzy, and sometimes bouncy. Sonically, it sounds influenced by bands like X-Ray Spex and the Slits. Can’t get much cooler than that. The music is melodic, but it’s not squeaky clean melody. It sounds like there is a layer of film over the melodies, sort of like a dirty camera lens. In a good way.
It’s fun and poppy but it’s also edgy, mean, and weird. Abi Ooze can do it all.
The song Problematic is one of my favorites. It’s a mid-tempo song about hating yourself. I love the chorus “I am a problem with no solution!” The mood shifts on the next track called Alien. Are you ever just trying to hang out and chill but an alien is all up in your business and killing the vibe? That’s what this song is about. The chorus “Leave me alone. Get back in your UFO” makes me laugh. It’s just the casual way she’s telling the alien to go home. Maybe the alien is symbolic of something. Who knows.
My favorite track is Problematic 2. Not to be confused with Problematic. It’s a slow tempo song for the most part with a nice melody, although the lyrics are rather cutting. I love that type of dichotomy in music. The best part is when the intensity builds and builds toward the end of the song until she is now yelling “you know that I want to make you feel bad!” She sings that line throughout the song but it just hits differently with more emotion behind it. It’s a great closer.
What I love about this release is the different styles and emotions and moods it encapsulates. It goes from soft and kind of sweet to snotty and snarling, and from slow to mid to fast tempo. It’s never boring, not even for a second. They don’t promise anything pretty and polished. Abi Ooze is no frills, pure and simple punk. It just sounds good. Check out the link below if you want to give Julia’s Apartment a listen!
Thank you for reading!
-Angela