Toronto punk trio The OBGMs will release their rampageous new album ‘The Ends’ on October 30 via Black Box. The record was mixed by Grammy and Juno award winning Dave Schiffman (Trash Talk, PUP, Rage Against The Machine). Vocalist/guitarist Densil McFarlane says about the album: “This album is about death, wanting to die, and fighting for something to live for — it’s the end of all things. I feel this is the one of the most important cross-genre albums this century. We are Nirvana, we are The Beatles, and The Stones. We are really changing the dimensions of which the game is played like the Steph Curry of this rock shit. We all have feelings of doubt, uncertainty, and I used to live there. I’m trying not to die there. If I’m going out, I’m going out shooting.”
Along with the news of the album’s release, The OBGMs have released cathartically combative single Fight Song. Says McFarlane of the motivation behind the track: “You ever sitting in your 9-5 and someone talking reckless and you really want to punch them in their head top? You ever get that passive aggressive email from that disrespectful person and you want to walk to their cubicle and tell them about their mom? I wrote this song so I wouldn’t have to hold my tongue. We want the smoke. All of it. You don’t like us, fight me, or get the hell out of the way. You can’t stop us, this is how we die.” Watch the video clip for Fight Song via YouTube below.
The OBGMs (that’s The oOoh Baby Gimme Mores) — rounded out by drummer Colanthony Humphrey and bassist Joseph Brosnan — aren’t your typical rock band. “This is a black-fronted punk band, and that’s really important,” McFarlane says. “Rock n’ roll is mostly white suburban kids—that’s what gets promoted. But we are black and we out here. I was inspired to make rock music when I saw a black guy on stage, and if someone sees that in us, I hope it will inspire a new generation to go after this.”
‘The Ends’ was recorded at Dream House Studios in Toronto and is the light at the end of a dark tunnel for McFarlane after the band wrapped up touring their self-titled debut album. “I thought me and music was over,” he says. “My life wasn’t very good at the time, people around me were dying, and everything I was making sucked. I thought it was a sign that I needed to do something else.” After a six-month hiatus and a whole lot of soul-searching, McFarlane started writing again. “I basically had a conversation with myself and found that the reasons I was making music were wrong and upside-down,” he says. “I was making it to fit a certain mold, but it lacked truth. It lacked honesty. That’s why it wasn’t able to come out the way I wanted it to. So I changed my strategy on songwriting. I started talking about things that were more relevant to me and more relevant to my community — and just talking about how I actually feel in words that are not compromising.”
“You can love us or hate us,” says McFarlane. “I’m aiming for that. We’d prefer the love — we’re full of love — but I’d rather you hate me than feel indifference.”
‘The Ends’ track list
1. Outsah
2. Cash
3. All My Friends
4. Fight Song
5. Not Again
6. Triggered
7. WTFRU
8. Karen O’s
9. To Death
10. Move On
‘The Ends‘ is out on October 30th via Black Box. You can pre-order it here.
