Little Oil and the nomadic night dreamt, feverish wonder of "Is That You?"

 

"I'll see you on the road to nowhere / Brother, all roads lead to there / Got no plans let the devil take my hand / Sister, he lives in every man..."

The nomadic night dreamt, feverish sweat beaded brow of "Is That You?" by Little Oil, the musical moniker of Mexico City born, San Francisco Bay Area artist, singer songwriter / multi-instrumentalist Victor Mitrani, feels totally inspired, two step twisted and a bit devilish. Beginning with a sort of Violent Femmes guitar jag and quickly spiraling off into a full speed carnival ride. I thought of hints of drunken gypsy punk, of Oingo Boingo-esque witchiness, of spinning hamster wheels and visiting rogue troubadours at the end of dusty 1920's Texas towns entertaining cowboys on horseback and in Ford Model T's. 

Little Oil mines sounds that feel so rustic as to feel totally fresh. The what goes around comes around adage comes to mind but that might be selling Mitrani short because the sonic universes he creates are exquisitely original. It is like the body lotion he slathers on not only keeps his skin youthful but repels musical tropes. 

"Is That You" is from Little Oil's sophomore album "Twelve Songs" on the Fountain Tapes Label. An album that I have cherry picked from over the last few months, an album that deserves a traditional album review but my very non traditional lifestyle has made that pretty much impossible. A GREAT album, though, you can absolutely trust me on that. For me, Mitrani's wonderful blend blues, punk, indie rock, folk, filtered through a kind of jazz dipped, honky tonk, busker punk, beat poet aesthetics have me once again feeling an amalgam of artists like Violent Femmes, Townes Van Zandt, XTC, Meat Puppets and The Feelies. Other thoughts percolate in my brain but I just suggest that you dive headfirst into the album because it will, most assuredly, transport you to other places.

Some past Little Oil reviews:

https://www.americanpancake.com/2024/06/little-oil-and-cascading-folk-indie.html

https://www.americanpancake.com/2024/05/little-oil-and-darkly-distilled-folksy.html

https://www.americanpancake.com/2021/11/little-oil-and-psychedelic-melancholy.html

https://www.americanpancake.com/2021/11/little-oil-and-acoustic-rainfall-dance.html

-Robb Donker Curtius

THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM 

https://open.spotify.com/artist/0a2h3dXSuN7CDadI0woWXH

https://www.instagram.com/little_oil_music/

https://littleoil.bandcamp.com/album/twelve-songs

A San Francisco Bay Area songwriter musician that finally fulfilled his creative urge to be the totalitarian dictator of his musical world and go solo with his self titled debut album. A lover of punk, classic rock, indie, & old time country & blues, his music is a voodoo brew that sounds both familiar but fresh and original. His second album, "Twelve Songs" was released on March 28, 2024 on the Fountain Tapes Label.



"Is That You?", busker punk, dark folk, sophomore album, folk, folk blues, folk indie, Little Oil, San Francisco Bay area, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, "Twelve Songs" on the Fountain Tapes Label,