OLIGOPUZZLED
release date: 7/4/06
run time: 42 mins

credits: Recorded in Nov '05 at Looking Glass and March '06 at Clinton Studios in NYC. Mixed in May '06 by Pete "Boards" Peloquin at Metronome in NH. Mastered in June '06 by Nick Zampiello at New Alliance East in Cambridge MA. Cover art by Lara Woolfson.

reviews:
Performer Magazine, Nov 06
"Destroy Babylon, originally from New Hampshire and now Boston-based, make their recorded debut with the self-released and thought-provoking Oligopuzzled. The band has a strong reggae underpinning sound-wise that is tinged with indie rock and a punk spirit, at times recalling The Police. Raucous, metal-esque guitar work and a diverse assemblage of instruments (including fruit) fill out the atmospheric vibe. Add a healthy dose of world-conscious lyrics, and you have a wide-ranging, genre-hopping album.

'Rocky Shores from a Bird's Eye,' the first track, is a kind of fable where a certain current president teams with 'a bird named Jim' to cause all sorts of trouble in the name of a higher power. The song features a steady, reggae groove with powerful, yet airy, guitar soloing overhead that becomes a recurring dynamic on the CD.

'Of Fish and Water' sees the group continuing to take up the classic call of reggae as a supporter of social causes, as this track has a line that typifies the album's perspective: 'I believe in human rights / For more than just myself.' 'Grab a Shovel (Dig Faster!)' starts with a brief recording that sounds like an educational broadcast from the '60s and references colonization. Sweeping, hard-rock guitar then moves in, making way for a brief keyboard solo before taking back the reigns of rocking out until the end of the song. 'Bureaucratic Beat' examines another cause of societal strife, with vocalist/multi-instrumentalist John Beaudette noting that 'big business sucks up and it spits out.' A significant point in the album comes with the short fifth track, 'ADD to Album,' followed by 'Oligopuzzled (Part VI),' both of which cast a wary gaze at the digital music revolution. The former offers a sharp lament that sounds like an ironic pro-CD rallying cry for our modern age .. "I've got music ADD so skip the track!' Musically, the tune sways from dominant hard rock to mellow indie rock and back to intense guitar-heroics before closing with a somber horn outro.

Clearly a group who wants you to be a bit puzzled, then ask some questions, Destroy Babylon puts a tripped-out spin on the reggae sound and seizes on a number of current social issues to come up with a strong first record."

Skratch Magazine, Nov 06
"The debut release from this Massachusetts's punk/reggae trio is a blistering adventure that plants a wooden stake firmly in the heart of the necon vampires running our empire. With roots in bands like The Clash and Bad Brains, these East Coast upstarts have spent more time tearing down tyranny than struggling for a major-label contract."