Release Date: Jan 20, 2004
Genre(s): Indie, Rock
Record label: Jagjaguwar
Music Critic Score
How the Music Critic Score works
In light of Rough Trade's current success with the Strokes and the Libertines, it's easy to forget that, like all indie labels, it also releases obtuse obscurities that are destined to be heard by three men and a dog. The dog in particular will enjoy the high-frequency synthesizer squeals that tear through Oneida's sixth album in as many years. Secret Wars is a sobering demonstration of what repetition can do in the wrong hands, as the Brooklyn trio funnel the most endurance-testing excesses of Suicide, Can, Sonic Youth and stoner rock into a joyless, oppressive piece of work.
Blue/purple/pink/white color scheme. Polychromatic picture of a city with blobby people, fuzzy cars, and non-descript buildings. Maybe there’s snow on the ground, maybe there are clouds in the sky, or maybe it’s all just muck. It could almost be an infrared fake color picture thingamajig ….