ohnomoon

New York shoegaze quartet ohnomoon has put a lot of its hometown into its debut EP, VVV. For one thing, the fanbase the band had built up over years of playing local venues led their Indiegogo pledge campaign to surpass its $10,000 goal with fewer than 100 backers. (The killer campaign video probably didn’t hurt.) For another, all of the material was created right in Queens. “[The songs] were born on summer days in Astoria, in a hotel room after a hurricane, in a windowless rehearsal space in a fly infested basement in Long Island City,” recalls guitarist Corey Oliver.

The result is a self-recorded, self-mixed five-track collection that crosses the line between dreamy shoegaze and colorful indie. As fuzzy washes of guitar swirl about, dashes of hues both bright and dark burst forth in complicated rhythms, and singer Kat Lee’s airy vocals never let your head hang low for too long.

“Coming from a visual arts background,” Lee explains, “I like to think about colors, moods, patterns when writing. That said, a lot of the lyrics on this album have to do with loss: total immersion, tackling it, channeling it. There is an emotional arc to the album that I hope is empowering — I came, I saw, I conquered.”

That arc leads straight to the closing number, a song born of tragedy. “Raymond Blanco, our original bassist and great friend, drowned in 2011 while visiting Ocean City, New Jersey,” Oliver reveals. “There’s so much of him in these songs. Specifically, the intro to the last song, ‘The Silver Sea’, was written in the days following his funeral; I could only cry or play guitar at that point. Then Kat put a melody to it that gave me chills and I knew we had something special.” - Consequence of Sound

This is great. I’ll cut to the chase. New York-based Ohnomoon release their debut EP, VVV and it’s a knockout. Tight, melodic, familiar and combining the elements that I love from my ’80’s younger days, this band make it their own. As time goes by and the name of Ohnomoon becomes known, you’ll hear the same comparisons: My Bloody Valentine (without the aural assault factor), Lush, Curve and the like – this band are undoubtedly their offspring. I’d even offer up my beloved That Petrol Emotion as I can hear the pop-melody-structure mixed in with the drone and controlled feedback. “Shoegazer” was, at one time, something of a negative connotation – this band seem to wear it with pride. But they’re much more than that as these five songs will testify.

Kat Lee’s softly, breathy vocals which build into power, carry these songs into an even higher state than the music, which incorporates psychedelia as well as the aforementioned soundscapes. “Low” opens the EP with a sinister riff and clean in-between textures by Corey Oliver’s guitar (I’m guessing he wields either a Jaguar or a Jazzmaster); the rhythm section of Mike Spivack on bass and Trevor Gunderson (drums) hold down a dense, tight anchoring sound while giving the entire thing its propulsion. “Trust” carries on with a howl of “trust no one” as one of its lyrical mantras, reverting to a hypnotic melody that carries through a maelstrom of feedback and layered voice; I’m sure the word “hypnotic” will get bandied about but it fits here. “Blackout” is a strident, yet comfortably restrained track – it wants to explode but keeps itself in check, which makes it an absolute standout.

Rather than take away the intrigue and curiosity you may have with this wonderful new band and this glorious EP, I won’t say anything about the other songs (except that they’re ALL great and you must hear this). Instead, seek out Ohnomoon; buy this EP – it’s a win. And you’ll thank me later for it. I guarantee it. For shoegazers, Ohnomoon make it shine.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - Pop Dose

VVV, the debut EP from New York City quartet Ohnomoon is a haunting and ethereal foray into shoegaze that is equal parts enveloping, hypnotic and nocturnal. The EP opens with “Low,” an airy and celestial stew of Eno-esque guitars and vocalist Kat Lee’s cooing, breathy vocals. The song itself seems more focused on texture and vibe and less on hook or melody. On the contrary, “Trust” is urgent, antic and wholly consuming. Beginning similarly to “Low,” the song quickly shifts into a stormy torment of coiled rage accentuated by Lee’s grunge-like growl. That sense of kinesis also pushes the song into a something that is both memorable and surprisingly charismatic.

Arguably one of the strongest efforts of VVV is “Blackout,” which opens with Lee’s angelic timbre casting curlicues across the speakers. For the first minute the song does little to distance itself from its predecessors but as it continues, it begins to linger and shift into something deeply affecting as well as deeply rewarding. Anchored by the line, “If you don’t know what you want, you had better think of what you are, and if you don’t know what you are, you had better think of what you love,” “Blackout” is the first real wow moment and the first time that Lee’s lyrics stand on par with song texture.

The strong finish of “Blackout” serves as segue for title track “VVV.” Opening tepidly, “VVV” threatens to both underwhelm and underperform but the band’s insistence on employing restraint seems to have a purpose. After a pokey first two minutes, the quartet seems to wake up and kick it into higher gear. With each passing second, the sonic ante seems to rise and by the time the three-minute mark enters frame, vocalist Kat Lee is sharing the mic with guitarist Corey Oliver. That interplay seems to churn the rhythm section, which in turn has Oliver rattling off some of his strongest work thus far.

VVV closes with “The Silver Sea,” an effort which opens as a tender meditation but with time turns into a vibrant slice of post-rock. Once again, Lee's lyrics take center stage: "But if you leave, they’ll follow you, and in your sleep, all that you dream will follow you.” While guitarist Corey Oliver helps craft various moments throughout the EP where one wishes they could see Ohnomoon live, nowhere is that sentiment more deeply felt than on the final two minutes of “The Silver Sea.” In short, it is the very reason one listens to music. There's a defined pulse a sense of gravity, a feel of importance, one that seems to indicate that all four band members would not be complete without this song being performed.

While VVV does have many charms, there are quite a few issues the band needs to contend with before working on EP #2. Though no one can fault the band for self-producing the album, the DIY ethos actually takes away from much of the output. Far too often, Lee’s vocals are drowned out by either distortion or sonic haze. The quartet also seems to have a penchant for slow-starting songs and for never giving it their full effort until the final two minutes. Most of these gripes are issues that can be strengthened both on stage and in the studio. For now, VVV is a fine introduction to a band who performs music on their terms and on their dime. That kind of commitment is enough to keep one interested in release number two.

- Gregory Robson - absolutepunk.net

Brooklyn shoegazers OhNoMoon might not be remembered for their prolificity (the band just released their debut EP "VVV" after four singles produced from 2011 to 2013), but you sure can't fault them for the quality of their releases. The Deli's psych oriented staff (i.e. most of us) dug their early single "Sleeping Limbs" and the cover of "Ashes to Ashes," and are excited to find this early love still in great shape with new single "Low" - streaming below. Kat Lee's ethereal vocals reach here new levels of dreaminess, while the guitars perfectly balance the sugar surge with the right amount of tension and dissonance. The entire EP sounds solid (you can stream it in advance here. Don't miss their EP release party at Mercury Lounge on Monday 03.16.

We added this song to The Deli's playlist of Best Psych songs by emerging NYC artists - check it out! - The Deli Magazine

While roughly half of our current staff here at TMN are mostly of the college age-range persuasion, some of us older Ninja cronies cut our proverbial teeth on more classic indie fare. Bands like Pavement, MBV, Primal Scream and Creation Records, Neutral Milk Hotel & the Elephant 6 collective, Wire and an absurd number of other groups helped shape the standard scope through which this writer’s basis of taste was built. And so (after the long winded intro), needles to say, whenever an artist or band can conjure up those lofty comparisons to that aforementioned sound, well… we get a little excited. New York City four-piece ohnomoon have been crafting a hazy, durable stamp on guitar-pop for over three years, but make their TMN debut with the premiere of their latest record “Low”. “Low” is the lead single emanating from ohnomoon’s latest extended play –VVV- (which itself was backed by a successful indiegogo campaign), and serves as a welcome segue into their latest body of work.

While lead vocalist Kat Lee admittedly stated, “When Corey (ohnomoon’s lead guitarist) gave me the demo, I immediately felt the guitar interplay was the backbone of the song. I did a take of one of the main guitar lines from the demo and made it my own, but the weaving relationship was there from the beginning.”; we can’t help but be wrapped up in the tune’s murky, sonic minutiae. From Lee’s reverb-treated, airy vocal track to every underlying kick and those untethered moments of atmospheric ambiance; there is a distinct weight to ohnomoon’s latest single. Corey Oliver elaborates: “‘Low’ was birthed out of an old Garageband demo that existed under the name ‘mbv’ for the longest time (about 5 years before My Bloody Valentine’s blissful follow up to Loveless). I sat down one Saturday morning intent on writing something My Bloody Valentine-esque, but gave up after it proved too difficult. I started playing the opening riff to ‘Low’ out of sheer frustration. The accompanying guitar line came later that afternoon. I couldn’t decide between two instrumental bridges so the song sat unfinished for about 6 years.” It seems as if those 6 years provided the necessary breathing room for one of our favorite songs to lurk out of ohnomoon’s camp since their inception, and one we think will strike a chord with our most intuitive of readers. ohnomoon is set to headline the Mercury Lounge in NYC on March 16 for a special EP release show (with tickets going on sale here this Friday), so we’ll be keeping an eye out for -VVV- as soon as it hits. Stream “Low” above. - The Music Ninja

New York City-based newcomers ohnomoon are doing their very best to keep shoegaze and dream pop alive. A four-piece comprised of Kat Lee (vocals/guitar), Corey Oliver (guitar/vocals), Michael Spivack (bass) and Trevor Gunderson (drums), ohnomoon already have drawn comparisons to the likes of My Bloody Valentine, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Warpaint and The xx.

Having built a solid fan base by virtue of their live performance in and around the Big Apple, ohnomoon raised the money for their “VVV” debut EP via Indiegogo and reward their supporters with a rock-solid five-track release.

“I can explore, live in places in a song that would be hard for me to talk about, which I might not have any interest in dissecting in conversation,” Lee says of the writing process. “I always want to create a mood or head space that feels familiar and honest, so I hope whatever resounds most with the listener is intuitive, like the feeling you can get from a shared look or touch.”

The emotion-filled platter gets off to a strong start with “Low” and “Trust,” and ohnomoon later score with the title track and “The Silver Sea.” I’m eager to see what this talented young band can come up with over the course of a full album. (Jeffrey Sisk) - Pittsburgh In Tune

Releasing their first EP on March 10, New York City’s shoegazing indie rock group ohnomoon make their debut with VVV. Vocals from Kat Lee are entrancing and haunting yet upbeat with lyrics like, “Run if you can/But if you leave they’ll follow you,” from their track “Silver Sea.” Each song will guarantee to have you lost in your own world on every listen.

—by Kristina Ristovska, March 10, 2015 - The Aquarian Weekly

Ohnomoon’s tunes feel like that state of mind right as a long evening of sipping away at a loud club starts to morph into the pangs of tiredness that might actually be the onset of your second wind. That kind of confused anticipation builds via singer Kat Lee’s drowsy melodies entwined with the band’s sustained electro-pop, where guitar lines can sometime wind off on slightly drowsy tangents too. But everything stays pretty crisp and dancey, so we’re guessing it’s all a sonic second wind.

The NYC four-piece had to rely on a few second winds themselves during the making of the this video for Blackout off the band’s debut EP, VVV. Directed by the band and Jon Biddle, the clip was made while scampering around last October’s Halloween Parade in Manhattan. And if you’ve ever dealt with that insane sea of costumed’n’crocked humanity, you know just walking your way in and around it is hard enough, forget trying to make a compelling video, which the band definitely did.

We asked them about the video and a little more, so check out their answers and the cool clip, below. After near three years of existence, including loads of regional shows, VVV finally comes out digitally on March 10.

I think “moon” is the new “wolves.” I’ve come across three bands with “moon” in their name just this week. But you’ve said your band moniker is more about the sound of it than anything specific, right?
Kat Lee (vocals): Yes, it’s more of a visual/aural thing. It doesn’t mean anything to me, it’s more suggestive. But I do like moons, and wolves actually.

But your sound does have a kind of midnight, moonlight walk vibe to it.
K.L.: I like that, thank you. I tend to gravitate most towards music that puts me in some kind of dream state, so it’d be nice to do that for someone else.
Corey Oliver (guitar): After my previous band dissolved and Kat and I decided to join forces, there was a while where we went crazy looking for a new band name. We had a Google spreadsheet with like 98 names on it, including some hilariously awful ones like “:-* (kissyface)” and “Big Whup” and we would all vote for the ones we liked. Unsurprisingly, none of us liked the same ones. I eventually suggested we use Ohnomoon, Kat’s solo project, because the imagery it conjured in my head fit the sound of what we were doing perfectly.

You filmed most of the video for Blackout while walking around the Halloween Parade in Manhattan. How did you do that?! It’s always so crazy and packed at that parade! Any good stories happen during the filming?
K.L.: It was a crazy night! We were out filming until nearly 4 in the morning. The parade was actually our first location of many, and I’m really glad we got that over with in the beginning. Just getting out onto street level from the W 4th Street stop was an ordeal—half the station was taped off, and people were just jammed from the turnstiles all along the stairs waiting to get out. It was worth it though, the lighting was great and we caught some really cool costumes.
C.O.: There’s a long story regarding the Halloween night right after Hurricane Sandy that acts as the impetus for shooting the video on Halloween. I really wanted to try to recreate the energy from that experience, and I’d never actually been to the Halloween Parade. Thinking we could just show up and shoot there was a rookie mistake. It took us 30 minutes to get out of the West 4th Street subway station because of the crowd, then once we got topside it was utter mayhem. From there we made our way into Williamsburg and crashed multiple parties until we eventually found ourselves walking up the Williamsburg Bridge at 3 a.m. as the rain turned to snow. We only made it to about half of the locations we planned on, but we’re still really happy with the finished product.

What are the band’s plans for the upcoming few months?
K.L.: We’ll see! Our first EP is coming out in March, and we’re really excited to play shows on it, and for it to meet the world. But it’s our first baby, so I really don’t know what to expect.

- By Eric Davidson - CMJ

OHNOMOON, a New-York based indie-rock band, played their album release show, Monday night (3/16) at Mercury Lounge. The 4-piece band brought out a chill but dedicated crowd to hear brand new tunes off their debut EP release titled “VVV.” Their set was on point, with colorful, abstract projections shining on stage, and lead singer Kat Lee’s vocals just slightly above the music, to create an almost ethereal and “art-rock” vibe. The highlight to some (including the one guy who screamed out, “that was awesome!”) was when the band covered “Ashes to Ashes” by David Bowie- adding a wonderful spin on the original, adding extra “aaaah’s” and a impressive guitar solo by Corey Oliver.

- Article by: Vicky Dinka - Pancakes and Whiskey

Watch the cellphone-shot video for this hazy, shoegaze take on the immortal song made famous by The Flamingos.

We're premiering ohnomoon's video for "I Only Have Eyes for you," from Eyes, Mouth, Ashes, self-releasing on June 16.

The video marks an increasing trend we've noticed with creative and enterprising bands, and that's shooting video content on their smartphones. Huzzah. We live in the millennial age, so we must deal with it. It's so refreshing when a band is able to thread a social (media) phenom into a creative pursuit.

Guitar player Corey Oliver said, "We recently put out our first EP, VVV, and for each of our music videos (also firsts!) we've been experimenting with making the most out of limited resources and budget. This video was really fun because we were able to take our time and not worry about equipment, enlisting our friends and family for help gathering footage, shot entirely on smartphones. So there's snow and desert, beaches and cities, house parties and crowded avenues, strangers and loved ones. That said, had I known how time consuming it was going to be blurring out hundreds of faces I might have taken a different approach."

You'll know this song via the hit 1959 rendition by The Flamingos. Now enjoy a modern take.

—Amy Sciarretto
05.18.15 - Artist Direct