P.D.O.A. – Expressions Of Obsessions
Release Date: 20th September 2024
Label: Self Released
Bandcamp
Genre: Avant-Garde, Post-Punk, Art Punk, Indie, Electronic, Jazz, Experimental.
FFO: Aphex Twin, Raye, The Cure.
Review By: Ross Bowie
Public Display Of Affection (P.D.O.A.) are a German “Art Punk Experience”, and that doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface on the sounds the band are creating on their sophomore album, Expressions Of Obsessions. This time around, the band are utilizing electric violin & mandolin as well as upping the importance of sound design elements across the ten track album.
The album opener Love Not War, opens beautifully with a soulful vocal harmony, but underneath the layers of vocal harmonies there is an unsettling quality, keeping you on edge for its entire duration while the electric violin plays a simple but effective melody, the balance between light and dark is a tool used expertly by the band all across the record, leaving you with the feeling that something is always right around the corner.
Expressions Of Obsessions is unlike anything I’ve heard before. The variety of influences draws from all over the music spectrum to create a sound that is uniquely P.D.O.A.’s own. In the hands of lesser musicians and producers, this album could easily drift off into nothingness, but the band always find a way to bring it back around to keep a driving force pinning the whole thing together. As the album runs on, the bass really becomes a key component, whether it’s playing funk bass lines or sliding around in a jazz style. It is constantly evolving and keeping you engaged, while the more surreal elements of the bands sound take centre stage.
While a lot of the songs open in a similar fashion, with vocal harmonies and instruments soaked in reverb, you’re never quite sure what turn the song will take next. The vocal approach is wild but fascinating, with vocalist Madeleine Rose using every vocal technique she knows to challenge you. From soulful melodies, lots of harmonies, falsetto vocal lines that expertly drop in and out of tune to spoken work and rap passages, she has given this album absolutely everything she’s got and has left it all out for you to dissect with repeat listens.
The album’s crowning moment comes in the track Suppress The Hunger, which opens with this stunning lofi quality and sounds like you’re sitting in a beach bar, cocktail in hand before, while saxophone melodies swirl around your ears, while the vocals effortlessly interchange from singing to rapping to even a spoken word passage at one point. The sound design used here really fills the song out, and every time you listen to it, you will pick up on new details that you can’t believe you somehow missed before. The sound design is extremely unique and makes you experience a whole range of emotions. By the time you get to the end of the album, the sounds in the background have gone from attacking strings and detuned pianos to straight up moaning as the lyrics talk about being titty fucked. The stellar production here really balances all the elements perfectly and lets you really zone in on any aspect of the band you choose to focus on.
The only thing missing from Expressions Of Obsessions is that the punk element never gets its moment to shine. Life Support and Notice both sound like they could explode at any moment, but never do. Life Support has the potential to be a full-on club banger if it really goes for it but stays restrained without ever going over the top. The majority of the album, for the most part, lives in one tempo and one sonic soundscape and lacks any real variety on that front.
Overall, P.D.O.A. have delivered a truly unique album that will reward you with repeat listens. It would make for great background noise while you’re working, but taking the time to really dig deep into the experimentation that is often going on in the background is a rewarding task and shows the growth the band have taken from their 2022 debut to now, and if that is a feat that they can perform again, then we’re all in for a wild ride when they come back with more new music. 
(4 / 5)
