Beautiful Extremes, Etc. – b4bbl3.com

Disclaimer: a large amount of profile information has been taken from the band’s Discogs page, a page which I contributed to and rewritten here to better fit the page flow, as well as information I added to their Album of the Year page.

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BAND DATA

• GENRE: NOISE ROCK / ART ROCK
• STATUS: DEFUNCT
• YEARS ACTIVE: 2016 – 2020
• WEBSITES:
  • Album of the Year
  • Apple Music (has multiple other bands on the page, no O comp)
  • Official Bandcamp (best way to listen)
  • Discogs (only way I could think to get a physical copy of D Y A D and Laughing Death nowadays…if that’s even possible.)
  • Official Facebook (deleted)
  • last.fm
  • Spotify (does not have O comp)
  • Official Twitter (mostly deleted)
  • Official YouTube (deleted)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

• I. BAND SUMMARY
• II. POST-BAND ACTIVITY
• III. DISCOGRAPHY
• IV. THOUGHTS & REVIEWS

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I. Band Summary

OroborO was a noise rock / art rock band from Amherst, Massachusetts.

The band began as a three-piece unit consisting of drummer Jordan Frick, guitarist Nate Kellogg, and bassist Spencer Gusha. The group would record two instrumental demos before introducing vocalist Emily Carter (who had gained traction online through songs uploaded on her channel) on the single Baked Acid, released in 2017.

Their debut album, Laughing Death, was released in 2018; following a tour of several U.S. cities, their next musical endeavor, the EP D Y A D, would come the following year.

OroborO’s first and only label-backed cassette single, Climb / Gutted, dropped through Flesh and Bone Records in late 2019. This would prove to be their final release, as on March 24, 2020, OroborO announced their indefinite hiatus, followed by deleting their social media presence and music videos over time.

Their Twitter page has been removed all posts and as of 2025-12-18 reads as such, indicating the band is DEFUNCT:

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II. Post-Band Activity

Disclaimer: information gathered from Bandcamp searching and verification on public Instagram profiles. Information may or may not be 100% accurate.

Emily and (briefly) Spencer would later form the dance-punk band BRICKLAYER alongside Mylan Vogels, Alex Walsh, Zach Allman, Corey Camara & Cole Hancock (which unfortunately is under a hiatus of its own as of 2025 after releasing their debut record in 2024).

Nate would create both the ambient project Make Tape Sounds and the IDM / electronic-centric Person Project; both are still active, the former moreso.

Jordan seemingly moved out west to Seattle and is / was (?) involved in the art rock band Silver Pattern and the indie rock band Bandski.

The best place to listen to OroborO would be on Bandcamp – due to other bands sharing the same name and by consequence share the same page on some platforms, their streaming presence is spotty at best.

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III. Discography

Some release dates were found using Wayback Machine on removed releases. All entries below were self-released unless otherwise noted.

With the demos being removed from Bandcamp, and previous permission received by the band to share (I sent a message to their now deleted Facebook page after these demo releases were removed), I have included links to them below.

Recommended listens are HIGHLIGHTED.

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You can access this release here.

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You can access this release here. Yes, they used the same art twice.

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This is a different mix / early demo of the song that will later appear on the debut. You can access it here.

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You can listen to / purchase the album here.

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You can listen to / purchase the compilation here. This has some unmastered demos from the earlier demos, recorded and mixed at Gravesend Recordings.

They changed the art on Bandcamp to the Baked Acid single. I much prefer the one above, that’s the original art from Bandcamp.

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Released in anticipation of the EP D Y A D, Black Ice had a full music video that has since been set to private. Technically a single, even has single art, but not released on digital platforms as single. Oh well.

YouTube video (privated link)

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You can listen to / purchase this EP here.

BONUS: see some pics I have of the cassette below:

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You can listen to / purchase this single digitally here.

They say they are selling tapes of this still – here.

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IV. THOUGHTS AND REVIEWS

I believe I have seen OroborO twice in my life during their short 4 year existence, if my memory serves, and it grows steadily more and more foggy as the years proceed. I recall picking up their debut CD, Laughing Death, and playing that album so much after seeing their live show. I eagerly awaited and pored over their Bandcamp page, buying their demos and awaiting the next album. It was a thing that happened to me a lot – still does at times – but OroborO had this certain vibe, this magnetic personality, that drew me in.

The noisy rock flavor of those guitars; the vocalist’s range from serene to brutal; the pummelling nature of the compositions that would yield to math rock complexity and near beautiful progressions. They were a band that showed off their skills both in and out of the studio. 

All this to say, I think that their small discography, while accessible and highly relistenable, is saddening – they had so much potential and I would have loved to see how they progressed. Alas.

So what do we have? 1 album. 1 EP. 1 single. 3 demos. 1 comp. The entirety of OrborO from 2016 to 2020. Still, intriguing material, a lot to talk about.

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• DEMOS (Self-released, 2016-05-15)
• LOST DEMOS (Self-released, 2016-10-06)
• O (Self-released, 2018-05-29)

Before they found their vocalist in Emily, the band was an instrumental trio made up of Spencer, Nate & Jordan – a bit of math rock, a bit of noise rock, a bit of prog thrown in there. I believe per speaking with the band members, they all met at Berklee College of Music in Boston which (to the layman that I am) partly explains their penchant for more complex compositions – but they infuse 90s distorted noise rock in the vein of bands like Polvo, Don Caballero or Bitch Magnet – heavy, distorted grooves but with a complexity that isn’t too abstract, stuff you can bang your head / nod to.

These sessions as well as a couple other demos were recorded at Gravesend Recordings in Brooklyn, New York. They’re fun, lo-fi and have a bit of personality. I especially like the noisy groove of “Throw Up and Die” – it could fit on a compilation of math rock bands quite snugly, even in its unmastered state – “Nate’s Ballad” and “Dred” round out this first demo, firey and tight compositionally, a peek into where they would develop into with their debut – LOST DEMOS, released a few months after their first set, feels a bit more jammy especially in the long 9 minute “Trainwreck” – undeniably good stuff peppered throughout the 3 songs here as well, my favorite being “Ouroboros”, double guitar work and riffs layered onto each other, a great buildup and finish, a good time for what is essentially the band’s theme song.

In 2018, the band brought together demos from these Gravesend sessions, old featured tracks (with different track lengths and maybe different mixes?) as well as new additions (such as the funny titles “Fat-Ass Cat” & “JK I’m Satan”, the former being a highlight) onto the compilation O. It’s the most direct way to pay for these demos (even if they are a bit different) now after the first two were removed from listening. There was an original version and a reissue – I like the original uncanny art the best – the reissue repurposes the Baked Acid demo single art and well, doesn’t hit the same.

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• Baked Acid (Self-released, 2017-01-20)
• Laughing Death (Self-released, 2018-01-09)

When Emily joined, her ranging vocals added the extra spice that made OroborO really pop for me. She could scream, sing, shriek, whisper, croon, all that jazz, and it matched the band’s energy very well. The first version of Baked Acid from 2017 shows them in a more primordial awkward state with a new vocalist but by no means is bad – quite the contrary. Something about how Emily’s vocals melded with the complex instrumentation just clicks so very well even in this underproduced stage.

Once the debut album dropped, the production rose up to meet the band as well. Essentially, Laughing Death is a slam dunk – production is perfectly attuned to the band, and the raw nature of the lo-fi demos comes across in higher fidelity pretty well – but with additional glossier touches and flourishes. It sounds great, this record. Any sort of latent awkwardness from the “Baked Acid” demo is gone – the band is playing tighter and faster than they had before. Such good songs here, with my favorites being:

• “Demogorgon”, an initial calmer rock tune that evolves into a heavy, pensive tune that juggles different time signatures into a ever intensifying crescendo with atonality and screaming, almost adopting doom metal moments here – very pretty yet brutal.
• “Centipede”, an almost funny sort of progression that leaves you moshing to the almost silly lyrics. Never have I felt like headbanging much like when she delivers the line “I’M A LITTLE CENTIPEDE, YOU DON’T WANNA FUCK WITH…!” Absolute hype.
• “Baked Acid” making its return with a fresher, tighter, faster composition – different and better performance quality all around. The vocals are much more engaging on this cut as well – confident, eccentric and cutting.

All this including a Beat Happening cover to boot – it’s manic, heavy, funny, intriguing – a fantastic record I still play today.