Marking a new era for the band, releasing on new label Half-Normal Records (co-founded by the band’s Eric Davies), ‘Sally’ highlights a bright, rejuvenated sonic depth. Led by a brooding, infectious bassline and lifted by joyful synths; clean and intricately syncopated, this track is a thrilling showcase of Oslo Twins’ growth as producers and songwriters.

Exploring new territories both in their live and recorded sound, bringing electronic drums and clean synths to the forefront, Oslo Twins’ music is venturing into cleaner, more expansive electronic territory, drawing influence from Nation Of Language, Angel Olsen, This Mortal Coil, Everything But The Girl, Lamb, Chromatics, Grace Ives and Ladytron.

There is a tone of yearning and melancholia within ‘Sally’. Pithy and vernacular lyrics in the verses hint at hidden emotions, while the chorus reveals what’s behind the cool facade, as lead singer Claudia Vulliamy explains: “It wasn’t easy fitting the words ‘Mrs Dalloway’ into the rhythm of a pop song….Sometimes when you’re drinking with people you’ve known for years, you get struck by an overwhelming awareness of the passage of time. Parties can feel like this, which is why I connected the lyrics to Mrs Dalloway, the titular character in Virginia Woolf’s novel. The central character organises a party full of people from her past and becomes wistful. Sally is the name of a character in the novel, an old friend – or old flame – of the protagonist, who reflects on when they were teenage girls with big ambitions.”

The post Oslo Twins return with pulsating new single ‘Sally’ appeared first on She Makes Music.

The band’s upcoming debut EP Back To Nothing is subtly influenced by dance, industrial and lo-fi music of the 80s and 90s, adorned with distinctive, hooky pop melodies, all connected by a sense of distance and the tension between unity and isolation.

New single and EP title track ‘Back To Nothing’ is lyrically suggestive of romantic loss, yet its steady rhythm and bright legato synths evoke a sense of calm acceptance. The violin courtesy of Tom Connolly (Quade) adds a melancholic folk depth, before the song arrives as its rich, euphoric climax. “I wouldn’t say it was about longing, but the stage after,” says Eric. “I wrote the lyrics by the River Avon in Bristol on a warm evening. It’s a melancholic, reflective song.”

Speaking more on its inspiration, vocalist Claudia said: “Sometimes you know that something is coming to an end, but you’re not quite there yet – you’re in the mournful, wistful transition period. There’s a sense of steady movement in both the lyrics and the music, but it’s ambiguous whether it represents progress or surrender.”

The post Oslo Twins release new single and upcoming EP title track ‘Back to Nothing’ appeared first on She Makes Music.

The new EP announcement coincides with the release of its second single, the anthemic ‘Miss Yesterday’. A summery ode to optimism after difficult times, ‘Miss Yesterday’ evokes anticipation and warmth with its bright, rich instrumentals, trance-like beat and laid-back, vernacular vocal and lyrical tone.

“It’s a song of joyful nostalgia, filled with hope and affection,” says vocalist Claudia Vulliamy, “and perhaps a darker hint of ‘Let’s just run away from everything, there’s nothing but us, f**k it all’.”

The single is accompanied by a joyfully surreal animated music video by artist Noriko Okaku, in which Claudia, Eric Davies and drummer Luke Brown take us through Okaku’s fantasy world made up of natural images that move in a Monty-Python-esque flip-book style.

Adding further insight into the inspiration behind “Miss Yesterday”, Claudia went on to say: “When I was writing my part of the Miss Yesterday lyrics, I watched a clip from The Rocky Horror Picture Show of Tim Curry performing ‘I’m Going Home’. His character is a literal alien – and he’s completely insane but that’s besides the point – longing for familiarity, and he sings (with wet hair and smudged makeup, in a corset and fishnets) ‘I’ve seen blue skies through the tears in my eyes, and I realise, I’m going home.’ For some reason that lingered in my head and made its way into the tone of the song. Also, the chorus lyric ‘No one sees the world like we do’ is based on a similar phrase that Robert Mapplethorpe said to Patti Smith, according to Smith’s memoir Just Kids.”

“Weirdly the track felt nostalgic from the off, even when writing it – hence the name,” says Eric. “It all happened really quickly.”

The post Oslo Twins announce debut EP and release new single ‘Miss Yesterday’ appeared first on She Makes Music.