Hospital Ships

Oh, Ramona

(Graveface)

Record Review by Alex Pudlin

As a trumpeter for Shearwater and co-founder of Minus Story, Jordan Geiger is no stranger to landlocked indie-Americana. But now under the mantle of Hospital Ships, Geiger makes a solid pitch for first-name familiarity. Hospital Ships’ debut album Oh, Ramona is a fragile slice of indie-pop, with plenty of nods to 60’s and 70’s psychedelica and sunshine pop. Geiger’s fragile tenor, expressive and passionate but always bearable on the ears, ensures that the album never feels like a rote genre rehash. What’s more, the “manchild” quality of Geiger’s voice plays perfectly into the album’s themes of maturation, nostalgia and loss.

Oh, Ramona is a bona fide quarter-life crisis album. Both musically and lyrically, many of the songs here exist in the limbo between adolescence and adulthood. Weighty thematic explorations collide with sounds that wouldn’t be out of place in a live-action film adaptation of Candy Land. This duality is exemplified most impressively by “The Shots I Drank.” A title like this may sound like nothing more than a frat-boy keg anthem, but Geiger instead uses the subject matter as a metaphor for self-realization amidst a culture that says we can be young forever. Over jolly Zombies-esque pianos and trotting drum rolls, Geiger laments “the shots I drank were too much me.” Let’s face it, we’ve all been there, head in the toilet, cursing the Cuervos and Captain Morgans of the world. But to hear Geiger’s boyish voice sing it in such simple frank terms really makes you stop a second and reflect.

Meanwhile, “I Want To Get Out,” could refer to any number of difficult situations. With a piano vamp and fuzz-bass line, Geiger sets a tone that he builds upon with synth splashes and piano tremolos until it’s clear that his desperate vocals and the hazy production are meant to mirror each other and transmit a deeper theme. “More than You Know” is an angsty but poignant number that finds Geiger’s voice fighting against pounding drums and heavily distorted guitar before leveling out into a soothing lullaby of a coda. And “Oh, Ramona” starts as a mournful but highly melodic love song, that segues into a festive trumpet and piano waltz with drum rolls and arpeggio keys. 

Despite all these impressively crafted, thematically layered tracks, there are plenty of songs that fade from memory as soon as they end. “I Do Not Understand,” “Girls,” and “Mockingbird” all could’ve easily been omitted to make the album stronger. But Geiger wisely never uses more than what’s needed on each song. He makes his point and moves on, whether it’s in 2 minutes or 4:00. This ensures that the more mediocre songs don’t drag down the gems (although the decision to end the album with two short snoozers is a bit perplexing). With a bit of trimming Oh, Ramona could’ve been a bedroom-pop masterpiece. Now it’s merely a solid album that any fan of high-pitched vocals and lollipops should listen to immediately.