Brooklyn, New York's Oneida is one of the few psychedelic-rock groups that could convincingly score the battle scenes in
Fight Club. The band's sixth album,
Secret Wars (Jagjaguwar), finds Hanoi Jane, Fat Bobby, and Kid Millions not quite so full of law-breaking energy as they were on last year's outlandish
Each One Teach One double disc, but it's still an exhilarating listen. A couple of tracks go down new ethno-rock avenues, and on "Wild Horses" (not the Stones classic), Oneida eases into melodic-grunge à la Afghan Whigs, Neil Youngish guitar solo and all. Of course,
Secret Wars wouldn't be an Oneida disc if it didn't contain songs so fast, you fear the group's instruments will burst into flames -- and this one has two of 'em that pummel as hard as the fiercest European techno. Elsewhere, the Glenn Branca homage "The Winter Shaker" (imagine having your head smashed repeatedly with a chiming Gibson guitar) and the 14-minute closer "Changes in the City" (akin to Monster Magnet's volcanic "Tab") ensure that Oneida hasn't fallen off one bit. This may be one of the few rock gigs where you ought to bring magic mushrooms
and a mouth guard.
