Thomas Oliverio doesn’t particularly like labels and genre categories. When I interviewed the Nashville-based producer for the site Petal Motel recently, I asked Tommy about the use of the term “cosmic country.” Personally, I like the label and most of the music that’s released using it because it blends two musical loves of mine: psychedelia and Americana.
Tommy told me that when he started his band Bawn in the Mash, they used the term “intergalactic folk” – another creative phrase. But he added, “These days, I’m not much into labels of any sort; they’re just anchors that keep us from growth. Miles Davis said it best, ‘good music is good no matter what kind it is.’”
That brings us to the recent release of Box Truck Boogie, the new LP from Tommy’s group Tommy & The Ohs that defies labels. As much as a music blogger like me would like to throw tags at this record – and no doubt I will in this review – Box Truck Boogie eludes them.
“I see a lot of country cosplay going on in Nashville these days,” Tommy also told me in that Petal Motel interview. Sure, you can dress up as a cowboy/girl. You can also pledge allegiance to Gram Parson’s cosmic American music and the visionary he was. But when push comes to shove, can you create something like Box Truck Boogie?
I doubt Tommy is trying to be offensive with his “country cosplay” statements; it’s more so that he’s an artist who takes his art seriously. He’s a producer who has his hands in many different pursuits, including film, from what I understand. On Box Truck Boogie, his statement is that here’s the music that moves me the most right now, and you can take it or leave it. You should take it, though.
Indie label Perpetual Doom released the record on October 27th, and I’ve listened to it quite a bit to let it marinate in my consciousness. The sounds are a detour from the psychedelic trappings of his 2022 release, Mariposa Gold, so this is out of the norm for Third Eye coverage. Nevertheless, I’d still consider it outsider music in the vein of alt-country and some masterful songwriting.
Tommy draws inspiration on the album from his cross-country travels (as evidenced by the cover art), as he navigated 13,000 miles across North America in a big rig he taught himself to drive. Perpetual Doom tells us this was “a simultaneously terrifying and exhilarating lesson in life on the road,” which gives Box Truck Boogie a troubadour spirit.
The album starts with the playful “I Don’t Know What I Was On (But Honey I’m Off It Now),” a short, little country-fried ditty about sobering up, coming clean, and reconciling with a jilted lover. The New Orleans-jazzy piano pairs with guitar twang and fiddle and that triumphant chorus.
“On Yer Own” follows a similar template as Tommy crones, “Where does all the time go/when you’re on your own?” Perhaps Tommy thought this while traveling the continent on his big rig, switching through the FM radio. “So It Seems” brings us gentle Spanish guitar and a serenading vocal style, with Tommy singing of a relationship gone wrong but not quite gone. “The only time I see you is in my dreams,” he sings, “the rest is history, or so it seems.” It’s a gorgeous song that’s all the more interesting because of the Spanish crooning vibe.
“Candy Jail” is a Silver Jews cover that Tommy describes as “me covering Zeb Zaitz covering David Berman.” “Ciao, Bella” is another meditation on loss, and it’s at this point you start to pick up on Box Truck Boogie’s thematic elements. Perhaps all that time on the road gave Tommy room to reflect on past losses, as the album is filled with sweetly melancholic moments.
All told, Box Truck Boogie comprises nine tracks in a tightly packaged runtime of 27 minutes and 55 seconds. The album is a signature Perpetual Doom release, a label specializing in oddball/outcast stuff, that often finds supremely talented songwriters on the fringes of the folk/Americana scene, such as Jessica Breanne and Lee Baggett.
For regular Third Eye readers, Box Truck Boogie is a departure from our usual psychedelic programming, but hey, I like to throw curveballs every once in a while. As Miles Davis is quoted as saying earlier in this piece, good music is good music no matter what. You can also argue that Box Truck Boogie fits nicely alongside other psych-country releases we’ve discussed recently, such as from Saguaro and The Bures Band (which we covered here).
Fans of artists ranging from John Prine to Dylan to The Black Lips should enjoy Tommy & The Oh’s latest record, so hop over to Bandcamp to check it out. Also, be sure to listen to the band’s previous 2022 release, Mariposa Gold, which brings more psychedelic sounds to the table. Enjoy!
Check out Tommy & The Ohs’ Box Truck Boogie on Bandcamp here.
Support Tommy and The Ohs by finding them on Instagram. You can see all of Tommy’s links here.
Support Perpetual Doom by finding them on Bandcamp, their official website, or social media (Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter). You can also support Perpetual Doom on Patreon, where you’ll get extra goodies like the occasional Bandcamp codes and more.
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