Album Review: And the Wave Has Two Sides by On an On

ON AN ON began recording its debut album, Give In, just three weeks after its members’ previous band Scattered Trees broke up in 2012. But the Chicago/Minneapolis trio comprised of Nate Eiesland, Ryne Estwing and Alissa Ricci only really began writing as a fully formed trio in the past two years prepping for sophomore release And the Wave Has Two Sides. While the coherence seems apparent in studio post-production (the work of Joe Chiccarelli at Sunset Sound studios in Los Angeles), ON AN ON ends up sounding like a mellow Passion Pit on And the Wave Has Two Sides.

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What ON AN ON lack in clarity of vision they often make up for in studio perfectionism. The three-piece, formerly members of the dissolved Scattered Trees, are sonic sculpture specialists. They’re less a band with a specific message than three minds full of grand, exquisite 3D shapes and an urgent need to unleash them. On And the Wave Has Two Sides, they solidify their tendency to communicate more through tones and gestures than words, not unlike the phonetic difference between “on an on” and “on and on.” At best, these shapes are magnificent things, substantial or curiously figured or both.

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Let’s face it - break-ups are hard. They have a habit of leaving a nasty mess behind that no one really wants to clear up. Kudos, then, to Minneapolis trio ON AN ON for deciding to keep things going after the breakup of their former incarnation Scattered Trees, who split back in 2012 after nearly a decade of output. If ON AN ON’s last album Give In served as a bridge between the sturdy, folksy side of their previous band and a more pop orientated direction, And The Wave Has Two Sides sees them blasting away any remnants of this and charging headlong into the shiny world of the would-be mainstream.

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