EP Review: Oscar Lang – 'Overthunk'
Dirty Hit’s latest addition to the team, Oscar Lang, releases his new EP ‘Overthunk’, a collection of songs that are easy to love and hard to get over.
Punchy beats and crisp guitars mark the beginning of a new era that combines the indie pop roots of debut EP ‘bops etc’ with psychedelic rock in powerhouse opener ‘Flowers’.
Staying in the hazy lane but dialling down the tempo, the rest of the EP follows in a similar though distinctively softer vein that puts the focus on Oscar’s impressive songwriting and binding vocals. Intricate melodies in tracks like ‘January Leaves’ and ‘Applaud’ are easy to get lost in and slowly carry you into a state of dreaming. The latter dealing with Lang’s transition from student to full-time musician and setting him apart as a brilliant lyricist – “I'm forgetting all my memories, a man, a blank facade. A memory of a lifetime when my mind wasn't so flawed.”
Talking about the EP, Oscar explains: “The ‘Overthunk’ EP is influenced by my previous indie-pop sound but mixed with some 60s folk and psychedelia that I grew up listening to. I wanted to write songs that were still strong even if you just played them on an acoustic guitar. It’s the style of music I’ve been writing ever since I started.”
‘Overthunk’ plays with sounds and expectations; the result could be described as Matt Maltese meets The Beatles or simply the new and improved bedroom pop. Either way, Oscar Lang has created a wonderful piece of music that is sure to draw in audiences left, right and centre.
Words by Laura Freyaldenhoven