Album Review // Onyon // Last Days on Earth

Trouble In Mind Records

Onyon's newest album Last Days on Earth is deceptively straightforward and ultimately unpredictable. Vocals tangle in threads of gritty, deadpan delivery and nearly angelic harmonies akin to The Vasolines. Heavy beats lock arms with The Velvet Underground, steady yet halting and unapologetic. Guitars buzz and crunch like The Undertones, but are as lush as My Bloody Valentine — pieced together like Brion Gyson cut ups. Bass lines drip with the residue of Joy Division, slugging and punching along. Synths are lost between the hedgerows of New Wave fellow Germans Kleenex and Halloween sound effects albums.

Comparisons flood in easily but none accurately extol the fantastic slurry of this meaty album from Leipzig's Onyon. This second post-punk release conveys more confidence and depth than their first impressive initially self-released EP. Martin Mueller's production and mixing demands every component to be heard but never overshadows its partnered layers. "Egg Machine" is a new favorite which seems lifted from a motorcycle gang B-movie while "Blue Lagoon" busts out from the shadows of the spookiest of surf bands. This album could fly during any sweaty dance party or while sitting home alone in the dark.