Imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery, so you can forgive Owel for their occasional dalliance with tunes that can best be described as OK Computer-era Radiohead. Ocean Legs is, to intents and purposes, No Surprises in another guise.
It’s a minor blip though and an indulgence you’ll allow them once you’ve immersed yourselves fully in Dear Me’s dizzying depths. Dense, undulating, expansive and beautiful, Dear Me is all those things and more. Exquisite in delivery and probably best listened to while nursing a drink and staring off into the distance while pondering the one that got away… Singer Jay Sakong reckons that this latest record, “Reflects a slightly more optimistic state of mind,” so goodness knows what kind of turmoil he must have been in on record one. Still, it’s a wonderful journey to take, the lush tones and colours make for an entrancing experience, flourishing and unbridled in the swirling Albert And The Hurricane, deft and strident in the purposeful sounding Places, which has a wonderful lightness of touch, or full of yearning and loss in the low thrum of Annabel.
