For its third album, Toronto-based Ohbijou enlisted producer Jace Lasek (Besnard Lakes), ensuring a denser, more orchestral impact. Throughout, Casey Mecija’s pixie-like vocals play off a cascade of throbbing strings and keys. Melody and lyric can be overwhelmed. Metallic metaphors keep turning up, especially on “Iron and Ore,” where feelings are “wrought iron,” a heart is “solid ore,” lips “nickel-plated.” Blades, conduction, lava and blood appear as passion, time, devotion. This could be disturbingly clingy, some sort
of Mazzy Star with cellos, if the sonics weren’t so
beguiling.
This article appears in Oct 13-19, 2011.