Considering he’s the man behind such
powerful and esteemed rock outfits as Drive Like Jehu, Hot Snakes, and
his current group, Obits, Rick Froberg is decidedly modest. Of his
latest band’s formation, he says, “We just sort of dicked around for a
while until we thought we had something that was good enough to
play.”
The “we” in this case is Froberg minus longtime collaborator John
Reis, the other creative force behind Jehu and Hot Snakes. For Obits,
Froberg is joined by Sohrab Habibion (formerly of Washington, D.C.,
pop-rockers Edsel), who proves a suitable counterpart on guitar, as
well as drummer Scott Gursky (of Shortstack) and bassist Greg Simpson.
On the band’s new full-length, I Blame You, as on their two
earlier 7-inches, Froberg and company retain and refine the
straightforward rock of Hot Snakes (the sprawling, complex
constructions of Drive Like Jehu are long gone). The rough edges are
smoothed, the heavy-handed riff work is more often scrapped for melody,
and Froberg does more singing and harmonizing than ever before.
“The way Hot Snakes was divided up, mainly it would just be John and
I having at it with the riffs,” says Froberg. “With Drive Like Jehu and
Hot Snakes, there was just no melody, no tune, just blasting riff-type
stuff, and it was totally fun. But it’s nice to take an approach that
[involves the vocals] more.”
It’s a winning approach, as Froberg’s cleaned-up (yet still
instantly distinctive) croon aligns sweetly with his equally
recognizable guitar work. Add to this a very capable rhythm section and
Habibion’s tasteful, minimalistic guitar intuition, and you’ve got the
components for yet another impressive addition to Froberg’s already
remarkable career. 
