Album Review: Oscar Lang - 'Look Now'
‘Look Now’ serves as Oscar Lang’s follow-up from his fuzzy-rock, 2021 debut album ‘Chew The Scenery’. Coming off the back of a break-up from his childhood sweetheart, Lang has created an album which feels accomplished and astute, he’s widening his musical scope despite the album lacking the bite you’d expect considering the subject matter.
Track ‘A Song About Me’ offers his expected breezy indie-pop. Simple yet deeply personal lyrics settle over sweeping strings and a Beatles-infused melody. Playful hook "You said ‘don’t you write a song about me’’ epitomises Lang’s inoffensive lyrics, the song is refreshing and simple, it feels made to be listened to in old denim shorts in a dusty field somewhere in the British countryside with a cider in hand. However the song’s subject matter, of the collapse of a childhood love, feels initially somewhat jarring beside joyous piano tones. Perhaps channeling something of Carly Simon’s ‘You’re So Vain’, Lang offers a unique blend of intense subject matter alongside soft drums and spiraling strings. The disparity takes a moment to register, but it somehow works.
The enchanting ‘Everything Unspoken’ meanwhile sees Lang employing a hypnotic melody. Soft birdsongs are somehow successfully paired with pacy rhythms, this is surely a song to sparkle on-stage.
Track ‘Crawl’ feels sunny and timeless, an excellent example of Lang’s trademark echoey synth-pop. Once again, deep contemplations are aligned with chipper melodies, Lang considering ‘Could I be the answer to all of your questions?’ Once again, however, the contrast seems to work relatively well and it becomes clear it is this juxtaposition which makes the album tick. Lang faces a range of heavy topics on the album as ‘One Foot First’ examines the after-effects of suicide whilst ‘Wish You Were A Child’ mourns the loss of innocence. Lang’s orchestral swells and candid lyricsism however make these topics feel approachable, he speaks on them without fear which is truly beautiful to see.
‘Save Me Alone’ is additionally a beautifully produced track, Lang candidly pleading ‘God I wish that I was home’ over a Billy Joel-esque piano. ‘Blow Ur Cash’ sees a psychedelic turn for the album, the track repetitive and hypnotic and desperate. ‘Circle Line’ is a particularly good moment of the album, a lounge-pop tribute to Lang’s London hometown, ‘Circle Line’ is a love letter to the city, it feels like you’re alive in London.
Between the spacious grooves of ‘Take Me Apart’ and the swelling, cascading melodies of ‘A Song About Me’, Lang creates an album which deals with the fall-out of the break-up from his childhood sweetheart, processes the trauma of his mother’s death and looks forward to a brighter future, altogether concocting a heartfelt reflection on Lang’s life in a beautifully personal way.
Words by Grace Dodd
