***Just when you thought that the density of his discography couldn’t possibly accrue any more weight, Ever/Never Records drops the latest OBNOX magnum opus on your dome like a two-ton wrecking ball. A sprawling double LP, Savage Raygun distills everything Obnox excels at into a potent potable and even adds some new spirits to the concoction. As always, Obnox (aka LAMONT THOMAS) supplies a heavy brew smoky with an intense flavor and bright with a zest you can’t forget. Obnox’s fourth full-length for Ever/Never, Savage Raygun is twenty songs thick, and each one is primed for maximum damage. This double-shot is a veritable Whitman’s Sampler of multiple methods to slay the discerning listener. Soulful cuts such as “Supernatural” and “Blessed Black Soldier” are like ‘90s R&B turned on its head and spun til it can’t tell down from up. “How To Build A Bum” is a hip-hop slammer, a golden age throwback, a basketball jersey that gives you confidence when you sport it. “Return Fire” utilizes scratchy funk to approximate the aftermath to a shoot-out, blazing towards the state line. “Misery” continues with the ‘70s vibe, sounding like the lull between disco bangers. “Hawkwindian Summer” is more than yet another award-winning pun by Thomas as it cruises by like a Ford Escort blasting psych rock from in-the-red and shredded speakers. “She (Was About That Life)” adds a vintage sheen to Obnox’s trademark lo-fi scorch and throws an extra dollop of swing on top. “Cut Me A Switch” is another hip-hop...
2XLP $35.25
07/10/2020
***“A few years ago I had this crazy idea…why not ask OBNOX aka LAMONT "BIM" THOMAS to make a free jazz record? After seeing him on tour playing drums with Cleveland out-rock legends X_X, I just had to try and make it happen… Bim, who is no stranger to making out-there genre-defying records, surprised me a bit by happily agreeing. It seems a bit of a cliche these days to try and get rock people to make jazz records, or jazz people to make rock records, but what the hell? Of all people, Obnox seemed like a pretty solid candidate. Although it may not directly sound like it, to these ears it’s an updated take on some of the late '70s free jazz LPs that, at the time, were panned by critics but now are being rediscovered… think Albert Ayler’s New Grass (and come on let’s acknowledge the deep Cleveland connection here), Archie Shepp’s Attica Blues, Larry Young’s Fuel, even reminds me of Tony Williams Lifetime at times. Bim has infused Templo del Sonido with that same sense of urgency and protest. Like the '70s, we are once again in a time of protest and discontent with the world around us—as Bim so elegantly states in the first lyrics of the album, ;wake up…wake up…America…wake your punk ass up.' Templo del Sonido will surprise you, from the opening upright bass hymn, 'Stagger Lee Cain' to the intense groove of 'Names' with an amazing spoken word performance from KISHA NICOLE FOSTER,...
LP $17.75
08/17/2018
MP3 $9.90
08/17/2018
FLAC $11.99
08/17/2018
***After a mind-boggling seven LPs and nine EPs in six years, you’d be forgiven for thinking that you could safely ignore OBNOX’s newest full-length opus Murder Radio. You’d be wrong. Dead wrong. Coming hot on the heels of 2017’s other ‘Nox platter (Niggative Approach courtesy of 12XU), Murder Radio is another deep dive into the humid underground lair that Obnox (aka LAMONT "BIM" THOMAS) calls home. Along with the usual stacked roster of utility players, Thomas is joined on Murder Radio by steady new drummer STEVE MEHLMAN (PERE UBU) and the divebombing, corkscrewing guitar of CHUCK CIESLIK. Murder Radio finds Obnox pressing their foot down on the metaphorical gas pedal for another trip around the turntable. While kaleidoscopic cuts like “Movimiento” and “The Movement” are an attempt to combine curb-level justice with radical politics, “Woe Is Me” finds Thomas gifting doubters and naysayers a kiss-off to hum to themselves as he leaves them in the dust. “I Hate Everything” is yet another stellar example of Thomas’ by-nowpatented soaring psych-rock gems while “Enter The Hater” focuses the fuzz into a punk attack. Side-closer “Bangaar” comes riding in on a classic hip-hop clip and sounds like a perfect combo of Eric B & Rakim, The Beastie Boys and Stereolab. It wouldn’t be an Obnox record without an ode to the Great Green God in the Ground and Murder Radio doesn’t disappoint—Side Two opener “Sun Doobie” will stone you until you become a believer. “Deep” is exactly that, so strap on...
LP $17.75
10/13/2017
***That we’re nearly midway thru 2017 and some segment of the allegedly savvy music world has either slept on Cleveland’s LAMONT (BIM) THOMAS aka OBNOX or continues to damn him with some faint “prolific garage rocker” praise is nothing sort of criminal. OK, not WAR CRIMINAL, but certainly a brand of cultural c(r)ock blockery that neither historians or your kids will look kindly upon. Niggative Approach—a knowing nod to Ann Arbor’s other N.A. (with an opening cameo from JOHN BRANNON) is the 7th album in Bim's astonishing unbeaten streak that began with 2011’s I’m Bleeding Now and shows no immediate sign of ending. While Thomas’ past genre-defying works have brazenly taken a torch to such record store bin cards as “punk”, “psych”, “hip hop”, “funk”, “new arrivals” and “MISC. O”, Niggative Approach is his most bold, fully realized statement to date. There’s no one in what’s left of the underground with a sharper take on the ties that bind these genres, and no eyewitness to the nation-going-to-shit as quick to stand up and throw down than Obnox. If you wanna settle for half steps, by all means, be our guest, but Niggative Approach shouldn’t merely challenge you to imagine the possibilities, but maybe dare you to get your hands dirty in making them happen.
LP $15.50
06/02/2017
***The people say they want the truth. Let’s take them at their word: The People want the Truth. LAMONT "BIM" THOMAS is the god(damn’s honest) Truth. We all know the truth isn’t always pretty, and rarely is it fun—but Thomas makes it sound like the best party you’ve ever been to which you’ve ever been invited. And make no mistake—everyone is invited. OBNOX is soul music for the bruised and battered; feel-good tunes for the righteously pissed-off masses; and a sonic salve for the neglected and ignored. Wiglet—Thomas’s third full-length of 2015—is part two of Ever/Never’s double-fisted Obnox-ious assault on your eardrums (following current triumph Know America). If possible, Wiglet is Thomas’ most wigged-out offering yet. Condensed into a solid half-hour of fuzz, grease, sweat and fury, Wiglet is another entry into Thomas now-patented, and near-effortless, blend of punk (including garage, post and hardcore), soul and hip-hop—all with an ear worthy of a warped late ‘60s studio engineer.
LP $17.75
09/25/2015
NOW AVAILABLE!!!Coming at you direct from Cleveland, Ohio, LAMONT "BIM" TOHOMAS has transitioned seamlessly from journeyman sticksman in some of the state's finest bands (This Moment In Black History, Unholy Two, Puffy Areolas, Bassholes, etc.) to the full-on phenomenon known as Obnox. From a foundation of dirt-level garage punk, Thomas sculpts deep cuts out of blown-out beats, redline guitar damage, and soulful singing, as if your local gospel choir had been raised on a steady diet of The Pagans and Back From the Grave comps. Know America is a loose concept album, something like Thomas' deep soul take on 'Pump Up The Volume' or 'Airheads'. Right at the start, on "Signal Takeover," Obnox is hijacking the radio waves. A DJ that sounds suspiciously like Thomas, let us know that we are tuned to "Radio 420 WEDE" and that we better prepare for some "trunk punk." In case you haven't picked up what he's laying down, Thomas informs you that the LP you just slapped on your turntable is "reefer on wax."Received a 7.9 rating from Pitchfork.
LP $17.75
08/11/2015
***“Riddle me this: who on Earth makes 15 top notch records in 5 years and stays as obscure as OBNOX monarch BIM THOMAS? Not that there's been no love at all—now that the man seemingly spent as much of 2014 on tour as off, and dropped blazetastic videos for ‘Red I’ and ‘Molecule/How to Rob,’ the spotlight is widening, and not just from the usual indie/undie blogs—the Washington-by-god-POST has seen fit to recognize the 'Nox's bulletproof alloy of Cleveland-by-god-Ohio's two sturdiest musical ores: punk rock and soul. And maybe that right there's why fame, Grammys and fat cash haven't come a-knockin'—'Noxmusik is some potent, real, RAW shit, and the new drop, Boogalou Reed, isn't going to win over any Future Islands fans to the cause. And that is what it is, but Thomas' songwriting chops keep getting better and better. Boogalou Reed is home to soul satisfying gospel-psych like ‘I Climbed a Mountain,’ skillet-to-the-face noise freakouts like ‘Proto-Pipe,’ taut rockers like ‘Raven Slaughter Culture’ and ‘All Hail the Deejay.’ 'Nox's tunes just keep turning out SO DAMN GOOD, and if more people can't hear that through the fuzzgrind, that's really just too bad for them. But there's no way rock 'n' roll this persuasive stays a secret forever.”—Ron Kretsch
LP $15.50
01/27/2015
***“BIM’s new Louder Space masterpiece was only narrowly spared double LP status, hence the hasty/confusing 33 RPM, flip-the-sides and interrupt the grind of "Used Kids," a new classic in the OBNOX canon (though "cannon" works just as well in this instance). Big thanks in advance to Columbus, OH's Used Kids Records (1980 N. High Street) for NOT SUING US. If you think Mr. Thomas' prolific nature is tough on your shelf space, spare a thought for all the inferior artists who he's humiliating on what seems like a monthly basis!” Two tracks from the Louder Space sessions. Edition of 500 copies.
7" $6.75
04/01/2014
***It's the newest latest from BIM THOMAS’ one man soul-punk bomb OBNOX, and Black Gladiator is psyched like a mug to be part of this expanding, dark dope cloud. This “Canabible Ohio” double 7” joint features five new tracks of dank punk stank with a level of pure b-boyism unfelt since the golden era of the Def Jam days. Dig “Deep In The Dusk (Redux)”* for the Jeep beat, replete with a broke ass Magnetix sample. Three of the four cover songs in this set represent the sordid history of Ohio rock and soul: Gaunt’s twisted “Flying,” King James Version’s “He’s Forever,” a tore up, one-in-a-million ‘60s shouter which no one even knew about until the recent release of Numero Group’s Boddie Recordings box—a song which no other need attempt after this, and the all time McCoy’s classic “Hang On Sloopy” gets the ‘NOX treatment proper. A cover of the Urinals’ “I’m A Bug” rounds the set out, cuz we’re stupid like that. Records are housed in a full-color gatefold jacket in a limited edition of 500 copies.
2X7" $12.25
04/30/2013
***“The only thing I hate more than 12" EP's are 10" EP's. Or failing that, someone calling it a ‘maxi-single’. Why not just put my cock in a vice? HOWEVER, the 8-song extended player in question, Smoke Woody Haze (a salute of sorts from one Ohio icon to another) is not only a musical left turn of sorts for BIM THOMAS, but was also, apparently, commissioned by another label that due to circumstances beyond our control (well, mine, at least—I can't speak for Bim) is no longer involved in the project. Trust me, this soap opera shit is way less interesting than the musical contents. Not counting the I'm Bleeding Now reissue, this makes 5 amazing OBNOX records in the last 12 months, and as such, Bim would be a prime candidate for Time's Man Of The Year if the award hadn't already been locked up by whoever invented The Chip Clip (condolences to whoever invented the clothespin—I think you were totally screwed). Beats-oriented or not, this is as raw and resolutely punk as anything in the ever-expanding Obnox catalog. Bim says the next one's gonna be a double LP. Bob Pollard's on the phone—something about Bimbeing ‘too prolific’.”—12XU
12" $10.50
01/29/2013
Anyway is proud to release "A Ragin' in the Sun" by Cleveland's Obnox which is the alias by Lamont "Bim" Thomas, who has spent a lifetime immeresed in music. Some may look at Obnox “A Ragin' in the Sun” ep as another overgrown 7" with no direction, but in actuality, this record is simply a pop record that's been sprinkled with raw punk and a little hip hop beat culture. "Ragin" is not unlike this year's previous three releases by Lamont Thomas, best known as the drummer in Bassholes, This Moment in Black History, Puffy Areolas, and Unholy 2, all of whom have records to be released in 2013. Needless to say Thomas is responsible for nearly a dozen releases last year and there's not a bad one in the bunch. The "A Ragin in the Sun ep" is one of the strongest releases of the pack with its blown out, some what, Spectorian production. This record is limited to 500 copies and then it will be gone.
7" $6.00
01/22/2013
***REISSUED!!! Reissue of the otherwise sold out 2011 full-length solo debut from Clevelander LAMONT “BIM” THOMAS, whose prior appearances in combos including but not limited to THIS MOMENT IN BLACK HISTORY, PUFFY AREOLAS, BASSHOLES and UNHOLY TWO have fashioned an impressive curriculum vitae in American rock/noise/whatever. Originally issued by Smog Veil, I'm Bleeding Now is an important link in an ongoing onslaught of Obnox titles from the likes of Negative Guest List, Smog Veil, 12XU, Permanent and Anyway that are blowing minds throughout the globe. Includes download code.
LP $14.75
08/28/2012