Now this is a band that’s gone from strength to strength in success in a very short time bagging a gig supporting Spector at the Polar Bear even before they’ve released an EP. Considering this is only single no. 3, the young Hull four-piece are doing pretty well.
'O.S.T.M.' slots right into the alt/indie genre the band are going for with both music and lyrics. While the guitars, in my opinion, are a bit too persistent with their rhythm, there are some really nice musical choices throughout the song, particularly the variation of the chorus as it builds up to the last section - the lead underscoring this with a much more interesting line leading to a very nice chord that lingers at the end. However, in the instrumental break before this, I think there is a missed opportunity for the lead to have a much more diverse solo (which we know they’re capable of). To me it seems to take the approach of rhythm guitar and it feels like there should be something else there. The breaks, however, in the pre-chorus’ work really well, but the slightly helpless ‘oh no’ could be amped up significantly as it doesn’t do justice to the full and melodic chorus. The chorus, downtempo compared to the previous two singles, is much more of a ballad, if such a thing exists in this genre. It’s a self indulgent song and a great example of the introspection of a 20-something year old:
‘Maybe I should get myself sober and just admit defeat’
‘If you ask me to die I say if I have to’
This, by no means, is what you’d call a ‘happy song’, but ‘isn’t it a shame that we’re getting older?’ Frankly yes. I think a lot of people would find a little bit of comfort in that.
So all in all 'O.S.T.M.' is reflective, well-put together indie tune and it’s good, because The Avenues are good, but it’s not their best. Out of the three so far, Haven’t got a Prayer stands out for numerous reasons - despite its short chorus, it’s catchy; the musicianship - particularly that of the drums and lead guitar - shows what the band is capable of, which I’m not sure 'O.S.T.M does', and it’s just got more energy to it.
One gig to watch out for is on the 30th November at the Polar Bear where The Avenues will be supporting other Hull-grown indie-pop band Mauritia, and with regard to new music releases, in their own eloquent way:
‘for anyone who doesn't know we're releasing an EP in January, we're releasing an EP in January.’
So I’ll keep an eye out for an EP in January. With this in mind, I hope hope they stay out of the all-too-common trap in indie music of it all sounding the same, and I’m looking forward to hearing more tracks with the energy and musicianship of ‘Haven’t got a prayer’.
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