We wrote about Ought’s album More Than Any Other Day back in March (read about it here, we really liked it). The Montreal band are back with Once More With Feeling, an EP that builds upon the exuberance of their début release, with frontman Tim Beeler as lively and dynamic as ever.
Opening song ‘Pill’ is by far the most restrained track on the EP, so much so that it could almost be described as a slowcore song, weaving an abstract tale of drugs that meanders in a tranquillised haze. The lyrics are formed of half-remembered details, a hypnagogic mix of highly specific images and sweeping phrases:
“That day in May
I stole your father’s car
and took it to the beach,
buried that fucker deep.
Hey, where did it go?
Where did you go?
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/159272802″]
‘New Calm Pt.2’ plays out like the ramblings of an extremely energetic man shouted over the noise, which is just as good as it sounds. Weird, seemingly unlinked phrases come tumbling forth (“Who invited Paul Simon?” “To the left. To the left!” “Da da dada da!” etc.) and you can just imagine Beeler strutting around the room in a world of his own, caught up in a dream-like and extremely personal logic. He whips the band up into a frenzy as if his energy is contagious and by the end the listeners heart is beating a little quicker with an urge to join in too.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/159272093”]
‘Pt.3’ sees the tables turned, with Beeler adopting a deadpan delivery that is all but drowned out by menacingly discordant instrumentation. Again the lyrics seem to adhere to some arcane logic that only Beeler is privy to and the long stretches of plucked strings and feedback loops add to the unsettling sense that Ought are operating on a different plane to the rest of us. Some semblance of normality returns with the final song ‘Waiting,’ a far more traditional rock song, raucous drums and guitar supporting Beller’s wail to produce a sound akin to Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!