Written by Tom Bedding
The beautiful opener of, ‘Going Nowhere East’, begins with some lovely sounding strings before it becomes this blissful, atmospheric indie pop song, with the vocals tacking centre stage. The Arcade Fire nods to this track is a testament to the songwriter, who has created a breezy affair while talking about the issues of the world, it’s a fine opener for sure.
The EP’s lead single, ‘Hours’ is indie rock at its finest! We are swept into Alex’s world of inspiration and craft during this rack. Amazingly, the single raised £700 for the mental health charity, MIND, a fantastic gesture and effort by him and everyone involved. The melody we are given here in the chorus is truly wonderful, it goes along in such a sophisticated way but still filled with freedom and the spiriting nature of youth. The mix of inspirations of Radiohead and a slight Noel Gallagher High Flying Birds is interesting, showing off how the artist can bring together his inspirations to create something fresh sounding.
Similar influences can be found again on ‘Breaking Up’, possibly with a dashing of Johnny Marr with the guitars rhythm. The mixing of the drums allows this song to feel more sinister and dramatic, creating a dark undertone to set this song up to feel like it is in the mist of Ohm’s musical world. As the song comes to its finish, the singer becomes gritty with his execution and ensuring that this EP has plenty of textures to it, to ensure it does not become stale.
Darker tones continue on ‘Sometimes’, with a sing-along chorus that feels like if Billie Joe Armstrong had written a song for Arctic Monkeys during the ‘Humbug’ days. Potentially the song will offer another level live, it has some chanty qualities and feels very dramatic….how awesome will this outfit be live? I’m sure they kill it.
To conclude this impressive EP, Alex Ohm gives us something so personal feeling with ‘Time Waits (For No One). The lovely backing vocals gives an ora of pure and real, while we hear some nice sounding guitars within the mix. Here we have an artist that is talented but most importantly is showing purpose, it comes across that Ohm wants to do something meaningful with his music and wants to give the listener hope and a place to feel better.