“This Mortal Farce” by Anders/O’Bitz Duo

What This Mortal Farce, the EP by Anders/O’Bitz contains, is four exquisite tracks that crossover from Americana to other forms of alternative rock and country, grounded with an acoustic heavy sound and technically proficient engineering/production. The songwriting duo aren’t the average outfit because they are essentially a studio project, but that’s only a bad thing when it’s done by pop artists who obviously can’t perform yet, and that’s not exactly the case with Anders, but O-Bitz is the much less travelled of the two when it comes to the stage. The music they make is enough and of the moment to capture the live qualities and come out as good or day I say even better.

BANDCAMP: https://andersobitz.bandcamp.com/album/this-mortal-farce

I did not hesitate to go back and find out what I had been missing with Anders/O’Bitz, based solely on this EP and their current album from which this release is a departure from because they had four tracks that did not fit within the framework of it, so it is a subsequent release to American Bardo. I also discovered this to be their 4^th release as a duo, but Anders has been around recording and touring much longer than O’Bitz. Several releases later and they sound like they’ve been together a lifetime.   

Not having the opportunity to review American Bardo yet, I am still ingesting that album at the time of this review, so all I can say is that they two current releases differ in subject matter but not in their sound and approach to the music, the lyrics to these tracks just aren’t along the same lines so they contrast very well to one another. These are songs of a different nature but clearly cut from the same cloth, with “There’s No Changin’” opening the EP on a note about the fact that there can sometimes be no use in changing no matter how we try.

The great thing about these songs is they are all four on their own astral planes they could each be considered singles, and I was lost in the more-or less twenty minutes of it without a doubt. The first track does remind me of something, but I can’t quite nail the influence. The slide guitar and countrified ambience of the second track “Comes And Goes” is one of the highlights of This Mortal Farce, with a compelling sort of holy blues about it that is more than likely a hallmark of the style of Eric Anders and Mark O’Bitz.

APPLE MUSIC: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/eric-anders/4265757

In closing, this EP is remarkably good, and the songwriting duo deserve top marks for it, but I am also reminded it is not their only release this year. “Old Eyes” is most hypnotic and addicting, so it’s not over yet by any means with this token gem which could be the sleeper track of This Mortal Farce, with its mystifying presence. But you can the same for all four of these killer tracks, as the Anders view goes the deepest on the final few moments with “Seen So Much” pouring out the emotions to leave you wanting more.

Mindy McCall