The first two seconds of Oh Romance’s latest release are ostensibly amusical. ‘Animals’ begins with a whirlwind of coarse noise. After this, a more conventional, and musical, song begins. While that opening moment is fleeting, it is portentous of the roughness to come when presented with this wild new single.
Scottish rockers Oh Romance were conceived from the remains of previous bands. What connects its members is a past of disenchantment with former musical colleagues. They felt their peers lacked direction. It’s no surprise then that Oh Romance’s musical direction is blunt and propulsive acceleration.
This is a mixed blessing. ‘Animals’ is eruptive. It broods, circling its listeners like a carnivore’s prey Discordant synth slides are reminiscent of ‘90s shoegaze, with all its voluminous volume. Like those bands, Oh Romance offer genuine beauty, disguised as musical brutality.
Yet when vocalist Alex Campbell ardently strains his voice – not least in contrast to the artfully restrained guitar arpeggios that occupy the song’s more delicate middle section – Oh Romance sound altogether too zealous in their pursuit of loudness.
Despite this, all four members perform consummately throughout what is an excitingly unstable song. But ‘Animals’ is likely just the sparks of the pyromania the band’s future could offer.
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