Friday, March 18th, 2016

Artist: Oshwa (facebook) (twitter) (bandcamp)
Track: “Old Man Skies”

 

Chicagoland art/math rock quartet Oshwa are finally coming around to their sophomore album I We You Me, with a yet unspecified 2016 release and I’m here to present you with a track that should get you excited for it.

“Quirky” is probably the word that first comes to my mind when describing “Old Man Skies,” with Alicia Walter’s vocal delivery gleefully bearing the flag for that designation. Walter’s voice is a little jazzy, a little smoky, and with an uncommon high end that borders on a yodel, it’s a quirk that complements the playfully shifting tempo of the track in a way that beautifully ties its menagerie of jazz, pop, math, and indie influences together. She ebbs with the mellow lows, bursts and blooms with the rising bridges, and shines over the powerful chorus in a way that illuminates the song in a sea of similar content.

Though “similar” isn’t exactly how I’d describe the instrumental side of Oshwa or “Old Man Skies.” Others have described the track as sounding as though it was written forward and performed backward. It’s part of the allure and, again, quirk of the track that it has a bit of a backmasked sound to it, with Alicia’s forward-facing vocals keeping the listener on “play” even when the instrumentals are shouting “rewind.” There’s a lot of emphasis on complex harmony to be found amid the madness from a technical perspective and, honestly, there’s something to be said for the tight execution of the fairly twisted musical concept on display here. Even if it does come out the feathery touch of a soft-ish indie rock track. Hell, it’s especially impressive when that white gloved touch of mastery that can make something complex seem so simple.

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