Oh, Ramona's title track unfurls slowly over the course of a sublime three minutes, buttressed by layered instrumentation and a flair for the experimental that recalls The Flaming Lips. (Geiger named Hospital Ships after a song on that band's 1995 album Clouds Taste Metallic.) Before "Oh, Ramona" is over, Geiger has even unveiled a swell of horns to go with his oscillating chord progressions.
Inevitably, Geiger has earned comparisons to Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst, thanks to their shared Midwestern roots and emotive lyrics. But with Oberst coming of age musically, Hospital Ships' makes an ideal heir apparent: Oh, Ramona is rooted firmly in Geiger's "not a boy, not yet a man" phase. Fortunately, Geiger doesn't take himself nearly as seriously. The real-life Ramona in "Oh, Ramona"? The singer's cat.
TRACK LISTING
1. Bitter Radio Single
2. Baby For J
3. I Do Not Understand
4. The Shots I Drank
5. Sink Your Teeth Into Me
6. I Want It To Get Out
7. Girls
8. Mockingbird
9. Oh, No
10. Oh, Ramona
11. Tired Of Growing Old
12. More Than You Know
13. Your Heart
14. The Shots I Drank (Alternate Mix)
15. Oh, Ramona (Old Version)