![]() ![]() Developing from the lofi-bedroom pop first heard in his earlier music (including the Her soundtrack cover of The Moon Song with beabadoobe in 2017), Lang has sewn together different elements in his debut, all the while creating a meshed sound that references connected genres within its fabric. Interspersed by the fried electric echoes demonstrated through the opening and intermission tracks, the album toys with familiar movements, bleeding into psychedelic-rockier edges throughout. This debut marks a distinct, indie-pop-rock feel reminiscent of 90s indie classics pulsed through a nostalgic, upbeat lens. Built upon a warm and energetic style, the album characterises itself by the delicious, leftover-summer feels carried throughout songs. Often, you’re left wishing he’d pushed it further.(un)titled spotlights: Oscar Lang’s debut album Chew The SceneryĬatapulting from a release of EPs throughout 2020, 21-year-old Dirty Hit signee Oscar Lang releases his debut album Chew The Scenery. In some ways, it’s the story of this album. Spluttering into action, the album’s opener ‘Our Feature Presentation’ melds rowdy rock influences with a gargling, experimental edge – it’s just a shame it peters out so soon. These stand-out moments continue to show exactly what the Dirty Hit-signed musician, who emerged with fuzzy, bedroom pop tracks such as ‘The Moon Song’, is capable of. The self-reflective ‘Take Time Out’ dips its quill into a denser palette, too, with similarly winning results – it’s a collision between Lang’s clear love of propulsive British indie-rock and woozier, lighter-handed psych. Though ‘Yeah!’ bears many hallmarks of a stadium-baiting anthem, it’s also delightfully shot through the soundcard of a Nintendo 64. And where bombastic ambition meets experimentation, ‘Chew The Scenery’ also shines. Twinkling with piano and tender falsetto before making way for soaring strings, it recalls ‘Rush of Blood to the Head’-era Coldplay and is one of Lang’s most beautiful songs to date. Instead, Lang feels far more at home and intriguing with the intricate, slowly unfurling ‘Final Call’. There’s little to inherently dislike about the rollicking ‘I Could Swear’, but there are also no surprises lurking within its jaunty, slightly schmaltzy exterior: “All I do, reminds me of you.” Though the message of ‘21st Century Hobby’ feels hugely poignant in an era when musicians struggle tirelessly just to break even, musically it feels more Hot Hot Heat than the cutting edge of indie-rock. Yet Lang struggles when he shoots for huge, belting rock’n’roll – most of the more conventional tracks fade into the background. ![]() By the time final track ‘Thank You’ rolls around, Lang is pulled by both hope and regret: “I should of known better than giving you up,” he admits, thanking a break-up for making him a stronger person. Widening the scope further, the artist’s debut album ‘Chew The Scenery’ returns to themes of boredom and disenchantment, but mainly charts heartbreak with increasingly huge-sounding anthems. Initially catching people’s ears with the subtly affecting ‘She Likes Another Boy’, he’s steadily grown into an artist who delves into new sounds with every release – his third EP in 12 months, December’s ‘Antidote to Being Bored’, saw him enlist scuzzier sounds and post-punk influences – with searing results. ![]() Over the last four years, London musician Oscar Lang has proven he’s a dab hand at dreamy pop-rock and snarling anthems alike. ![]()
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