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By: Tyrelle Lee
This musical experiment by Owen O. is a campfire-ready EP soundtrack consisting of four acoustic powerhouse anthems. Starting off with the song, “Grow Up!”. The guitar melody is consistent with a sense of folk familiarity for the listener. The vibe, in my opinion, screams The Beatles "Strawberry Fields Forever" meets "Blackbird." Its raw and honest opinion of what it means to grow up, I quote "Growing up is the least grown up thing to do", reminds us that your past, as well as your present, will determine your future.
Owen O seems content in his message to maintain the same heart as a kid enjoying playgrounds with the obstacles that adulting manifests. The kick and bass drum instruments compliment the sing-along tempo very well. The song "Where The Birds Go" gives a drama-packed, cinematic feel with the bass drum, tambourine, and occasional distorted kick. Receiving lead-by example vocal assistance from Emma Yaniger, we get to witness Owen O explore his vocal ability with a feminine harmony in proximity. He is speaking his desire directly to his audience with the lyrics "I want to take you where only birds go, I want to take you on a flight."
My favorite track from the EP, "For The Chase" is met with a lo-fi guitar introduction with the help of an acoustic piano instrument. I found myself singing along through the subtle snare claps leading up to a mesmerizing 'La, La, La chant'. The tempo starts to speed up in the project's finale of "Party Song" where pots and pans are personified to never judge, like humans do. High-octave piano chords and bell sounds from the track are met with a hip-hop inspired drums and vocal rhythm. While listening to 'Where The Birds Go' we get to hear where Owen O is, where he has been, and we can have a pretty good guess of where is going.