Dublin’s Odd Morris have released their debut EP, Cityscape The Ballet: a five-track exploration of dreamy and perceptive post-punk.
Sonically, the EP delivers a similar sound to the one featured on both of it’s proceeding singles (‘The Once Was Enough’ and ‘Silhouette’). There’s both a distinct lack of conventional choruses and an abundance of sharp, intensifying guitar lines that come together to give the EP its experimental and punky edge.
Frontman Daragh’s monotonous and often conversational vocal bares his soft Dublin accent, giving the tracks a personable character and an element of warmth amid the otherwise bleak instrumentation; instrumentation that often evokes neighbouring bands – both in the geographical and genre sense – like Fontaines DC, Girl Band and, in particular, Just Mustard.
The release also shows off the band’s punk DNA in its subject matter and, despite its unconventional and inventive approach to instrumentation and song structure, the EP touches on the kind of lyrical themes we’ve come to expect from a band of this nature. Specifically, themes of nihilism and disenchantment (Cityscape The Ballet) are often framed amongst stories of broken relationships (The Once Was Enough) and emotional vulnerability (Silhouette), which gives the record a real relevance amongst its contemporaries.
The title track focuses in particular on concepts of escapism and features Daragh’s vocal slowly dissolving into a cacophony of drums, guitars and keyboards as the song progresses, while the record’s opener, ‘Rose Like Smoke’, features dreamy guitar lines that build into a vast and hazy soundscape of disenchantment.
The band’s focus on the bleak themes of post-modern disillusionment seem to especially resonate with the modern political landscape, where loneliness and uncertainty have lead a lot of us to look inward. This record is a reminder that we’re not alone and, in its essence, it offers an external way of experiencing introspection.
It was the band’s sparse run of bold and punky singles throughout 2019 and 2020 that first courted them attention from the likes of Radio X and Radio 6 and this releases confirms the band’s position in Ireland’s exciting post-punk scene.
The group aim to build on their notoriety with a host of shows across the south of England throughout the autumn, culminating in a gig at Brighton’s Mutations Festival next month. If you’re around, it’s not a show you want to miss.