POSTMODERN FAMILY - Broadway Palm Mental Health Kiosk

POSTMODERN FAMILY

​Broadway Palm Mental Health Kiosk
self-released; 2016

3.7 out of 5

By Matt Jensen
​

Bands fall apart. It happens and it can be more devastating than a breakup with a partner. Maybe that’s a stretch but it can suck especially if you are friends with the other people in band. For POSTMODERN FAMILY the breakup happened in the summer of 2015 according to their Bandcamp page. It seems as if POSTMODERN FAMILY is mostly Matt Osburn at this point but like all great artists they have a tendency to keep creating. In this case the creation was a four song EP Broadway Palm Mental Health Kiosk.

One thing I really like about these songs are that they sound somewhere between Ariel Pink and The Doors. The vibe is slightly psychedelic and off-kilter in a good way. That being said I wish these songs had better production value. No it doesn't need production like a top 40 hit which usually sounds like crap anyway but the production value of “Before Today” by Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti would be about perfect.

Up first is “All of Lost” which is a hazy, psychedelic rock song with infectious vocals. The vocals sounded high-pitched with an almost ‘70s style to them. On top of that the drumbeat was kicking. There is a great song under the lo-fi production. 

The next song “Familiar” is where I started to get reminded of The Doors. There is an almost “Riders of The Storm” vibe but more ominous and with some distorted bass. The vocals aren't as strong as the first song but the music makes up for it. “Familiar” is a solid song overall and I would have liked to hear a couple of more changes. 

“Ex Machine - A” is dissonant in a good way and also the most dynamic. This is as close as the band gets to actually rocking which probably is for a good reason since it states the whole band played on this song. “Ex Machine - A” felt like the most complete and realized song out of the four. 

They close with “Average Day” which is an atmospheric, dreamy song. I loved the vocals on the song; they are very catchy. This song is perhaps the best example of the Ariel Pink and The Doors mix. 

Who knows how this band will look next year? Either way I hope POSTMODERN FAMILY can get into a studio some time in the future. These songs deserve it. In the meantime Broadway Palm Mental Health Kiosk will suffice.

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