Review
What You Want
Ogbert the Nerd
“What You Want,” the long-awaited sophomore record from “the only emo band in New Jersey,” Ogbert the Nerd, begins and ends with the word “Stop.” And then it goes, and goes and goes…
Ogbert the Nerd are not “the only emo band from New Jersey” but they play as if they might as well be. They are a runaway panel van, trunk filled with drums of gasoline and a tank full of Miller High Life, careening from basement show to basement show. Singer/songwriter Madison Jones (aka Shutty, No Good With Secrets, and Taylor Swift) sings with a hard won confidence, hitting some jaw-dropping sustained notes with a fine-tuned throat-shredding scream that cements them as one of the most evocative voices in emo or otherwise. Producer/engineer/guitarist Ross Lane tears into every hook, riff, and solo like it’s a philly cheesesteak at 2am, stuffing each song full of jittery, nervy, and ultimately triumphant energy without overwhelming the rest of the band. The record sounds clear, but raucous, with an in-the-room energy that makes the time between LPs feel well spent. It sounds like the best basement show you never went to. Bassist Shaun Ofray makes sure Madison and Ross never lose their driving energy, and drummer Matthew Renzo alternates between brain-scratchy jazz fills and an open-field punk rock canter like it ain’t no thing.
Again. This record fucking goes. They’re like The Replacements if, instead of turning in potato mixes for shits and giggles, Bob (in this case, Ross) learned how to engineer like Ed Stasium in his spare time. They have the same madcap sense of humor and a similar, but mercifully moderated, obsession with destruction. They stuff their songs with as many shit-hot riffs and cathartic shout along choruses they can think of, and are fond of letting songs nearly fall apart before cutting the breaks and kicking into high gear for an epic finish. Their lyrics are joking-but-not-jokingly incisive expressions of pain and dissatisfaction with [gestures at everything] that will sneak up on you and rip your heart out with a bloody smile.
The songs on What You Want are all aimed at a “you,” presumably a romantic partner but also could be seen as a co-dependent friend or family member. The details are unclear, but what is clear are the boundaries. On two separate songs, Madison sings (or screams, at the top of their lungs) “The hardest thing I ever said out loud is ‘I can’t give you what you wanted.’” That isn’t the word “stop,” explicitly, but it’s a boundary, an acknowledgement of a limitation intended to make a change, or stop a behavior. The rest of the record provides some receipts.
The first lyric on “Don’t Quit, Get Fired,” is an abrupt scream of “can you just say something nice to me?” suggesting that the target does not, in fact, often say nice things to them. “Bike Cops” sings about the narrator being dragged around “just to show that I cared,” and having that reciprocated with a “get over it.” The epic 5 minute finale, “Dragon Song,” builds to a repeated “watch it all fall” gang chorus, and then cuts out for a minute of what can only be described as instagram reel indie pop, a very in-character spit take, and then another recording of Madison saying the word “stop” (this time, poking fun at the Pixies). It becomes clear that the story of “What You Want” is centered around how clear, consensual boundaries burned down their relationship, and how.
If “I Don’t Hate You” was the sound of a band reaching out for a community of any kind, “What You Want,” stands its ground, alone, together. It is a self-funded, self-recorded, and self-released shit-kicker of a rock ‘n roll record. It’s a testament to the fact that; no one is going to do a better job taking care of you than YOU. If there is something or someone (even yourself) preventing you from doing that, you should ask yourself, is this what you want? - Pads