PRESS
What they’re saying
Reviews of Another Round, released June 2023
“Oyo is exactly the sort of band you want to stumble across if you find yourself in a local barroom pretty much anywhere. They’re a quintessentially good-time band.”
“Oyo’s raucous honky tonkin’ barn dance energy comes through on many of the tracks, while a few moments take the listener on an introspective trek through vast landscapes and the depths of longing and the struggle of letting go. ”
Reviews of Oyo, released February 2022
““Tracks like ‘Light in You’ and ‘Old Friend’ take the edge off the loneliness of winter with lyrical optimism, while ‘Santa Fe’ hooks you in the gut and takes you back in time, much in the spirit of Josh Ritter’s haunting song stories. Oyo’s debut album earns top marks in storytelling, but it’s the loose, ‘gather-round-now-y’all’ energy that sets it apart.”
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“True to the band’s exquisitely oddball Appalachian aesthetic, “Oyo” was recorded over the course of a weekend in the belly of an abandoned church in West Virginia. The result is a 12-track album tackling themes that are often delightfully domestic, à la. John Hiatt’s 1987 “Bring the Family,” brimming with often heartrending contemplations on what exactly it means to be “home,” or perhaps more devastatingly yet, “in love.””
““Rowdy and eclectic... raucous honky tonkin’ barn dance energy.””
“Their trademarked sound in this debut self-titled album is full of easy going riffs and laid-back, wry, brutally honest lyrics. There are jams, and ballads, and deep twangy odes to Appalachians.”
““Sadness and fun. Cheers and lamentations. Mountains and river banks. Roots music in essence… These Marietta folksy river larks have released a really enjoyable, fresh sounding fun collection of songs.””
About the Band
Gathered around a single mic, Oyo’s high-energy performances are equal parts honky-tonk and barn dance, with an indie rock undercurrent. Born on the banks of the Ohio River, the six-piece Appalachian roots band formed from jam sessions in the back of Marietta’s JustAJar Design Press.
Featuring traditional acoustic instrumentation and driving rhythm, Oyo trades off lead vocals between Aaron Martin (fiddle, mandolin), Cole Adair (guitar), and Michael Bond (guitar, keys, harmonica, spoons), with Bobby Rosenstock (banjo), Drew Tanner (bass), and Joe Ryckebosch (drums, washboard) joining in.
Oyo take their name from the Iroquois word for the Ohio, meaning “beautiful river.” Like that big muddy river, Oyo is fed by many influences and tributaries upstream: folk, bluegrass, old-school country, and rock & roll.
Album: Another Round (2023)
Oyo’s second full-length album, Another Round, pours forth from a spot where the river dips beneath Interstate 77 and hooks north, smooth and unbroken. The band heads east through the hills on tunes that are comfortably wrapped around an old-time string band. They navigate south along the current with the addition of Borchard’s capable contributions on pedal steel. Many of the ten tracks romp through tales of wrong turns. Others celebrate a journey’s joys, even when the travel is only in our homes and hearts. Rather than bringing us back home on a smooth path, “New Year’s Day” ends the album in an imaginative way. With a series of expansive musical ideas approaching a miniature suite, this final track prompts us to confront our troubles while still reaching toward delight. Taken together, the songs on Another Round form a constellation of stories about momentum, and about the possibilities and inevitabilities of love, of loss, and of life on the move.
-Jim Morford
In the spirit of Oyo's gather-round-now y’all porch jam performances, Another Round features several special guests and collaborators from southeast Ohio and West Virginia, including John Borchard on pedal steel, Jesse Milnes on fiddle, Emily Miller on background vocals, Sam Lamont on background vocals and guitar, Andy Ray on percussion, and Adam Remnant on background vocals. The album was mastered by Glenn Davis.
Another Round features ten original songs by Aaron Martin and Michael Bond that continue the sonic journey Oyo began with their self-titled debut in February 2022. The album was recorded by Adam Remnant in a remote orchard hand's cabin, just outside of Marietta, Ohio, as well as in the studio at the historic Stuart’s Opera House, up the road in Nelsonville. Oyo features Cole Adair on guitar and vocals; Michael Bond on keys, vocals, and harmonica; Aaron Martin on fiddle, mandolin, vocals, and guitar, Bobby Rosenstock on banjo, Joe Ryckebosch on drums; and Drew Tanner on bass and background vocals.
Album: Oyo (2022)
Oyo’s self-titled debut album features twelve original songs by Aaron Martin and Michael Bond that take the listener on a sonic road trip through the West Virginia mountains to the Deep South, the American West, and points beyond. Along the way, they encounter the heartache of complicated relationships and the ecstasy of connection, all while capturing the raucous energy of their live performances and distinctive sound.
The album was recorded in the sanctuary of an abandoned church in Elkins, West Virginia, by Ben Townsend, of Questionable Records, and mixed and mastered by Michael Bond at Datawaslost Studios in Marietta, Ohio. Special guests include Heather Hannah on background vocals, Andrew Gilmer on dobro, Ben Townsend on fiddle, and Read Connolly on pedal steel. Album artwork is by Bobby Rosenstock and Joe Ryckebosch, with photography by Shannon Brown.
Album Art
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