The Oggs

Delightful pop-rock greets the ear almost from the onset. And you’ll be hooked instantly I almost guarantee it. It’s passively melodic meaning that you won’t believe how casually excellent these fellas are at writing great pop songs. They ogle melody and flirt with harmony as if they’re in a different zip code and it’s not considered cheating. They’ve won John Lennon Songwriting Competition honors and that for sure won’t be the end of their accolades. I’m purely amazed by their level of talent. Check ‘em out.

- J-Sin - Smother.net

The Oggs
Radiotherapy
Valley Of 1,000 Smokes
11 song CD

Imagine the best that 80s New Wave had to offer, put it in a blender along with grunge and modern rock, and you might get something close to The Oggs. This cheeky duet has a knack for taking a catchy pop structure and adding an edge to it.

Perhaps the best example of this on the album is Alcohol, a song which starts off with electronic percussion and a smooth bass groove, underpining a melody straight out of the pop how-to instruction book. The real fun comes when they pump up the guitars and take it up another notch, combining the later angst lessons of grunge and emo rock.

The best thing here is that even though they flirt with selling out, they never quite make it all the way there, keeping you on your toes from beginning to end.


MISH MASH Mandate: Oggilicious - Mish Mash Music Reviews

New York seems to be running an endless conveyor belt of talent at present. The Oggs ignore the more usual indie trappings of their environment and instead offer a pop/rock approach influenced more by 10CC than XTC. 'Alcohol' and 'Amanda Says' could have been lifted from Jellyfish's classic 'Bellybutton' album. There are great Beatlesque harmonies on 'She's A Revelation' and 'I Don't Know' gives a brief glimpse of new wave melancholia. Yet, on a generally upbeat record, the two standouts are the title track and 'One In A Million'; both superbly produced epic ballads. At the advent of their career, The Oggs were finalists at the 7th Annual John Lennon Songwriting Competition and the man himself certainly would have appreciated their gifts for classic songwriting. - Leonard's Lair

This New York band has the British rock thing down, from Radiohead-like navel gazing ("Radiotherapy") to sunny Brit-pop ("Get It On") and lots of catchy shades in between. - Cincinnati Enquirer

The Oggs are that kid that shows up at the lake with no idea how to fish and goes home with a full stringer. The magical bait they use is their quirky album Radiotherapy, a collection of priceless nuggets that simultaneously drip sincerity and satire. The odds of this many perfect accidents in a row are slim, so we'll just go ahead and crown them geniuses. - Cincinnati CityBeat

For more than a decade, MTV’s hit (and mother of all reality shows) franchise “The Real World” has used six strangers to not only show what it’s like to stop being polite and start getting real, but to also introduce viewers to new and exciting artists. During the Philadelphia season of “The Real World,” MTV patrons were introduced to The Oggs when their song “Get It On” made an appearance.

However, The Oggs aren’t merely background music. They have the chops to get full air time (whenever MTV feels the need to actually play videos again). For one thing, The Oggs are fun, but they make you think as well. You find yourself dancing along to their pop-rock beats, but also listening carefully to what they have to say.

“Get It On,” which is being released as their first single (a music video was shot for it), was a wise choice. Though each of the eleven tracks of the record certainly has something to give, “Get It On” is the kind of song that begs for radio play. It’s a bop-y, melodic track that still sounds pleasant with the chorus “Get it on/ It’s alright/ I’m gonna drink my little darlin’ away tonight.” It’s the kind of pop-rock perfection that gets stuck in your head for days, but not in the annoying way.

The 80’s influenced track, “Alcohol,” is the perfect song to blare before you head out to a bar on a Saturday night. Or, if the juke box is just lucky enough to have The Oggs, you’ll get to play it there. The album has songs featuring the keyboard, drums, guitar, and a vocalist with enough range to sound like Elliot Smith or, other times, like a dead ringer from someone from the New Wave era.

In a time when bands such as Franz Ferdinand and The Killers are making waves, this is the time for The Oggs to strike while the iron is hot. They’ve hit the musical nerve of exactly what alternative fans are looking for these days. If MTV continues to notice up and coming and good artists, maybe, just maybe, they can earn their cred back. - Aly Semigran
- Feeling Anxious

A new band has emerged from the buzzing music scene of New York City. The Oggs, in their debut album, have captured the essence of their hometown and have added their whimsical rock n’ roll love stories to the mix.

Eleven rightly named tracks tell the drama of young urban living. Whether it is the sad love song, or the up-beat lead single, The Oggs have created a sizeable contribution to the rock world.

The album begins on a somewhat low note, with “Good Enough," a slow song with a lovely melody, sprinkled with great guitar riffs that somewhat contrast the sad story the lyrics tell.

“Alcohol,” the second song, changes things up a bit with a more pop/rock sound, contrary to most of the songs on the album. It is definitely different, with louder riffs, and a new tone of voice that lead singer, Matt DeGroat takes on to tell another whimsical story.

"Good Enough,” “She’s a Revelation,” and “Amanda Says” have a gloomier sound, relaying deep emotion and sadness. All are tales of love in the city, especially “Amanda Says,” which has striking detail and reflection in the lyrics. As the last few seconds of this song fades away, the album becomes more of an audio diary than a Rock album.

"Waiting for the World,” is as different as “Alcohol,” lighting things up... but only a tiny bit more. More guitar is incorporated in order to set a faster pace for the lyrics, a solo toward the middle of the song is followed by a cheering crowd, and then things are taken to an even higher level. The last thirty seconds are exciting and fly by quickly - the most excitement on the album so far.

"Radiotherapy” stands as the slowest of all eleven tracks. With a hint of techno in the background, “Radiotherapy” is simply the tale of a man with nothing left but his acoustic guitar and a piece of his broken heart in each hand. This song, the saddest, has the most meaning behind the lyrics, but things are bound to change.

"Get It On” is the lead single of the album, and for good reason. The most exciting song of the album is also the most fun and lovable. It arouses an acute feeling of nostalgia, as if you’ve heard it before, but can’t remember when or where. This song stands tall over the other entries in this diary. It is without a doubt the highlight of the entire album. The Oggs performed superbly, creating a masterful song that really reserves their place in their genre.

The song “Nothing to Say” is exactly what its title suggests; taking on a distinctive techno sound with exciting keyboard melodies and a steady, energetic flow of guitar riffs. This song and “Get It On,” are the most vivacious songs on the album. In this song, The Oggs prove that lyrics aren’t necessarily needed to make a successful, lively track.

The tone of the last three songs is similar to the first few. The album, like it started, ends on a low note. “I Don’t Know” is the only one out of the last three to show any signs of energy. This energy ends ends within the last two songs, "Can’t Complain” and “Once in a Million.” The slower pace of these songs is not a bad thing—it’s just different compared to other rock bands today—which is what makes them unique, and quite frankly, brilliant.

Overall, Radiotherapy was fantastic. It is an album full of well-crafted, catchy tunes with sad, provocative lyrics. The most addictive of the eleven being “Get It On.”

If you’re ever in the mood to tone things down a bit and relax, or you're feeling sad from an emotional breakup, this album is for you. Even though there are only a few fast-paced, exciting songs on the album, they are all worth a listen, or two, or three, or…well, a lot of listens. The Oggs have now emerged as a successful rock band - first advancing from the garage to the stage. Now with Radiotherapy, they have advanced from the studio to the hearts of many with their story going on as the last notes fade into silence. - Tony Merevick
- Aced Magazine

"The Oggs' full-length "radiotherapy" (10,000 Smokes) is poignant and poppy." - Time Out New York

If we were to say The Oggs hail from NYC, with an album title like Radiotherapy, chances are you'd expect something on the punkier side of The Strokes. Not to be. Instead what we have is 36 minutes and 20 seconds of British musical history. Take She's A Revalation for example. A sublime blend of Beatles Strawberry Fields brass pop sass and ELO pomp that follows Good Enough which takes Teenage Fanclub playing New Wave in the style of Brian Wilson. Waiting For The World could have happily have found itself as one of the slower tracks on a Robbie Williams if it wasn't anything like that and hadn't built itself upon a Radio Ga Ga's chord structure.

It's to Matt DeGroat and Brian K's great credit that this doesn't come across as some kind of dodgy tribute record to all their favourite genres, the kind of criticism that was hurled at Ryan Adams' Rock N Roll (although we really liked it). Rather it's a playful rollicking thing that can get away with throwing an over the top crowd reaction to their Oasis Elastica bombastic rock out on Waiting For The World. Only in time to roll it back in to the moody strummings and ethereal electronica of radiotherapy where Matt pulls off his best Thom Yorke.

Not only do they seamlessly blend genres but they also write some damn fine sunny pop songs. Get It On rewrites CSN's Our House as an uptempo mid period Madness tune that bounces up and down in the terraces and is as catchy as the clap in a cheap Thai brothel. Nothing To Say sees the guys crunching away at their guitars with a bright shiny electro pop synth line over the top before returning to the moody Brit pop of I Don't Know although its monotone feel lets the side down in an album that's otherwise pretty peerless in it's poptastic pilferings. So even though the album's been out for a while, it's new to us this week and get's a well deserved album of the week award.
- The Londonist

The Oggs are a bunch of New Yorkers who met at college and started playing around the city. They’ve covered the NY scene, playing at the famous CBGB’s, and are moving on.

Their sound is a mismatch that is definitely New York. There’s a Velvet Underground feel to it, there’s Ramones in there – you can feel the threadbare dreams of Leonard Cohen and the like coming out in the tunes. It’s arty but sunny and pop; sweet songs about love and loss and lots and lots of whiskey

They’re like The Cure doing covers of Beach Boys tunes, or the Human League using live instruments. There’s a definite eighties post-punk sound but with much more traditional songs – no monotone rambling from the singer. Then to confuse things they throw old synths into the mix once in a while, but leave them playing upbeat, catchy melodies, like on Nothing To Say – a possible filler track that turns into one of the albums best tunes. It sounds like Add N To X doing a theme tune for kids TV.

This album mixes old NY sounds with post-punk stuff that is being used by loads of bands these days. It doesn’t always carry it off but some of these songs are brilliant and there is something lively about the whole album that makes it a proper feelgood record. The band refer to most of their concerts as ‘parties’ rather than ’gigs’ and the tunes definitely live up to this description. - Chris Helsby

- Angry Ape