Well I haven't heard the first two yet but if they've stayed around long enough to do three of 'em, I'll go with it. In fact the five members shown on the back of the album credits look like a group of music school graduates who became fast friends, started a band, having fun, and create songs not for love of fame, but because they want to make memories that last a lifetime… or something like that.

Yes they're the newest entry into the Polaroid Rock sweepstakes then!

And it's written somewhere in their bio, their musical background is evident from the beginning, their youthfulness undeniable; their seasoning however, is not something to be expected though obvious from such instrumentally dynamic works as "Domino Effect," at first a tuneful yet quirky keyboard-led opener, "Shootingstars," keeping in time, with the time, but soon we realize there's other parts at play here to cause a question, and then "Natalie Portman," a beautifully done piece, warm and heart-tugging, a ballad based on the enchanting actress from Star Wars fame.

Ozma's style is very much in the present, barely in their early twenties, how could it be otherwise yet their tastes are firmly planted in the yesteryear technology of early '80s circuitry, obsessively driven by the wonderful world of Disney, an animated sound for an animated band built on Super Mario, digitized images and keyboard enhancing Pop fantasies that come through crystal clear.

An enhanced CD which lures you in and apparently doesn't let you out till you've made it to the very end-all this without dropping a single token, er, quarter, gotta remember our roots here-altogether eleven enhanced songs, vibrantly presented, equal parts early model Cars, a bit of the ol' second generation Elvis, tuneful and Pop friendly, catchy and smooth, always smiling-"In Search of 1988," suggests they're still looking but upon further evidence, it's hard not to think they've found it by the time this one's half over… and in the modern sense, there's a bit of the Weezer-like flakiness thrown in the mix, soft touch Smashing Pumpkins and a little Jimmy Eat World… or Boy Meets World or whoever, it's a
pretty spicy version of memorable AOR classics from the post-modern age for college age listeners and beyond, hip to the groove and plenty o' room to move.

Released by Kung Fu Records

Review by Vinnie Apicella [va85@columbia.edu]
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Vinnie Apicella

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