Shuffling through the tracklist of an album can change the way we interpret its deeper meaning, but I don’t know this to be necessarily true of the new record Holographic Blues from Oberon Rose. Although the LP kicks off with an incendiary opener in “Sinner,” starting with a deeper cut like “Losers of the Year” will undoubtedly leave you just as eager to hear what else these guys can do (and not solely because of its melodic bravado).

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In Holographic Blues, Oberon Rose are very careful to avoid playing to any specific elements they’ve touched on before, and I don’t mean they’ve abandoned the guitar-driven rock sound they’ve made a name for themselves with. This is their shedding of aesthetical limitations to some extent, if not an odyssey into the wistful abyss of introspective poetry and searing string play worthy of a group that knows what kind of rock n’ rollers they want to be by now. There’s no hesitation in “Chinese Whisper” or “Sinner,” but instead a sense of catharsis coupled with confidence that stands as a far cry from the insularities of the outgoing COVID-inspired year in pop music we all just survived.

“A New Song” is probably the only outright example of Oberon Rose leaning on the conceptualism of a bygone era in Holographic Blues, and even in this track we find the band speaking out against the self-indulgence of their rivals. There’s nothing getting between their message and he melodic strut through which they deliver it to us in songs like “Upside Down World” and “Falling Up;” if there had been, I don’t know that the latter track would be as tonally blistering (but entirely accessible) as it is here. “Demoniac,” the lead single from Holographic Blues, could just as well have been packaged with “Sinner,” “American Avenue” and “Chinese Whisper” to make one heck of a potent EP, but in this context I think we’re presented with a broader look at Oberon Rose’s capacity for going hard in the studio. The past year hasn’t softened their attack at all – on the contrary, I would have to say that after listening to what they get done in this LP, they’re actually a little tougher post-2020 than a lot of similar groups are.

Featuring the bubbly swagger of “Miss Lonely Heart” and all-out extravagance of “Upside Down World,” Holographic Blues is a premier moment for Oberon Rose and the first album to enter their discography that I would personally deem unmissable. There’s no filler to skip over in this piece, nor are we ever met with some saccharine attempt at fitting in with someone else’s creative character. Holographic Blues celebrates the classic rock model without ever having to recycle any of its most familiar pillars, and in a generation that has increasingly rewarded evolution through retrospective consideration, Oberon Rose’s latest release has a real shot at being the most successful of their career together so far. It’s won my favor, and something tells me it’s going to capture yours as well.

John McCall