I don’t remember how I came across The Oowees in the first place, though it was most likely through a Spotify playlist. They come in at 9 monthly listeners, and Cheer Up, their only release*, consits of 14 songs spanning 35 minutes.
* Theoretically, they also did an EP on Sneakers Records in 2004, The Oowee Beat, but all its songs can also be found on Cheer Up.
We begin with the title track, and the Screeching Weasel influence is immediately obvious. In fact, one could argue they sound more like Screeching Weasel than Screeching Weasel does. The writing is classic SW, the production is essentially the same, and the higher he goes, the more like 90’s Ben Weasel the singer sounds. If you told me any of the tracks from Cheer Up were B-sides from Bark Like a Dog I somehow never heard, I wouldn’t bat an eyelid.
If you’ve heard My Brain Hurts, Bark Like a Dog, Wiggle and How to Make Enemies and Irritate People more times than you dare admit and you’re looking for something new that sounds exactly like them, this is it.
They don’t, however, sound just like SW all the way through. Like SW, they have moments which sound more like the bands who influenced SW. A good example is Supermarket Ballad, which sounds like SW doing a cover of a Ramones song.
Cleavage, Cleavage (I Only See Your Boobs) sounds so SW that I was sure SW has a song that goes just like it, and I clicked through their entire catalog only to realise Cleavage, Cleavage was the song I was looking for.
(Party With) Los Aarones and Let’s Get Drunk are upbeat party tunes, Treat Me Nice and Be My Girl are for the lovelorn, with the heavier guitars of the latter’s post-chorus offering a little distinguishing oopmf to an otherwise average track.
Come a Little Closer and It Sounds the Same, though not the musical peak of the album, are its conceptual highlight. The first leads you to believe it’s another love song, only to pull a fast one and become an invitation for the public to come closer to the stage. Clever, and I’m sure it worked great live. It Sounds the Same expresses the common frustration over chasing the dragon of “originality”, and shows a respectful degree of self-awareness from the band. Kudos.
When it comes down to it, the enjoyment one can get out of Cheer Up entirely depends on whether or not you’re a fan of 90’s Screeching Weasel. If the aforementioned albums are among your all-time favourites, then this one is definitely a worthy addition to your collection. If they left you luke-warm, then this one will too. But if that’s the case, what are you doing here?
– Tom E. Gin