“Paris” by OWEL – An Album Sampling

     The current surge in vinyl collectoring carries a return of the lament of entering a well-stocked used record store with a limited budget. There isn’t a shortage of good choices; available money is the issue. A related difficulty faced us while we sampled the recent album from OWEL, a New Jersey band. Typically, we select a favorite track from an album and then breakdown the song. But like record hunting, sampling the 12 songs on OWEL’s album, “Paris,” brought paralysis by analysis. Fortunately, our space budget doesn’t impose a limit, so we are posting four songs.

      The members of OWEL are Jay Sakong (vocals, guitar, keys), Seamus O'Connor (guitar, keys, vocals), Nunzio Moudatsos (bass, vocals), Ryan Vargas (percussion), and Patti Kilroy (violin, viola).

     OWEL brings polished orchestral skills to the Indie continent. Most songs on the “Paris” album are dynamic with respect to at least two of tempo, instrumentation, melody, texture, and intensity. “Being Human Is Weird” is a strong example. The song begins with an attractively gentle guitar hook and percussion that rejects any thought of restricting itself to using drum skins. Ninety seconds later, the song is forceful and the percussion is aggressive. Then, slightly more than three minutes into the single, strings step forward to establish a layer of elegance that blends well with the forcefulness of the vocals and percussion.

     “Being Human Is Weird” by OWEL

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/owelband

Website: https://www.owelband.com/
Bandcamp: https://owel.bandcamp.com/

     The orchestral influences on the music of OWEL are most apparent during the piano-driven and strings-supported intro of “No Parachutes.” The song is also lyrically intriguing and intellect:

Let's build a plane out of styrofoam and cellophane

And whatever’s left behind the shed

Let's cut across the Atlantic where we'll both live off

Of strange love with strangers

Packed to the roof with our plastic guns and hiking boots

And we’ve left no room for parachutes

And this gasoline is enough to only get us to

Strange love with strangers

God save us from this love

***

No parachutes

So let's get this right

(See you on the other side)

If we get this right

(See you on the other side)

Or if we all go down

(See you on the other side)

If we get this right

(See you on the other side)

Or if we drown

(I'll see you on the other side)

     “No Parachutes” by OWEL


     “Weather Report” shows OWEL’s skills in showgaze. It also includes arguably (we would argue) the best two minutes on “Paris.” Beginning at 2:44, the poetry in the lyrics, the inspiration from the almost penitent decision that “I’d join you,” and the masterful use of instruments contribute to the justification for declaring that the two minutes are extraordinary:

I heard the news and it's not good

They say the monsters are loose

And the city's on fire

But seeing you dance in the smoke

Waving your arms like a beautiful idiot

Makes me believe in the hopes of a day

I'd join you

     “Weather Report” by OWEL

    “Roma White” is another song that must be noticed. The piano, strings and vocals are individually beautifully dignified and are collectively moving. The percussion emphasis that we praise on other songs from “Paris” is missing from the early portions of “Roma White,” allowing a listener to fully appreciate the talents of the guitarists. By the time the percussion becomes more forceful, the guitars have already established their positions of dominance.

     “Roma White” by OWEL