Kelly Kirwan
Mah Kee Oh have nailed their latest video. It’s plays like a homemade movie, strung together in a way that’s hysterical and on point with their niche of guitar-riff, percussion-backed rock. Referring to themselves as “two dudes” with a soft spot for rhythm sections, Grahm Robinson and Gunnar Ebeling are first and foremost having fun with their sound. A do-it-yourself state of mind that just so happens to push out catchy foot-tapping melodies—these are two dudes that you want to shoot the shit with as much as you want to listen to their music. The latest release in their repertoire, Word Vomit is upbeat with a slight veer into garage rock--a dash of social anxiety offset by propulsive beats and poking fun at one's self.
Robinson takes center stage throughout, adorning a lush fur coat made for high-rollers, or a suit and shades that channels Reservoir Dogsas he plays. He sings dramatically, dipping forward as he breaks into a deep, even-keeled croon—or takes a moment to turn towards the camera, letting his sunglasses fall to the brim of his nose, with an arched eyebrow that might as well be saying (in a Ron Burgundy tone) seductive.
It’s instantly interesting to watch, an engaging video and single that feels familiar, as if Mah Kee Oh were your friends from college—the classic jokesters that down-played their talent with a filter of humor. But their rhythmic chops don’t go unnoticed. It's resonating guitar notes and fuzzy perimeters, exploring those moments where words "fall like vomit from my mouth," and require some quick backpedaling. For a single which pivots on these instances of kicking oneself, it doesn't drown in doubt. It bops along with shades of surf rock, unbothered by a social cue gone haywire. Infectiously good fun.