Photos Courtesy of Odd Haus
Unless you haven’t been paying attention, it is almost inevitable that art created over the past year is a reflection of these difficult times. Not only are we living through a global pandemic– but constant political upheaval and disturbingly prevalent racial injustice has plagued our national conscience for months.
So, if you’ve been doom-scrolling your timeline at all this past year, we implore you to tune into the brand new Oddysseys single. With their eyes set on evolving their sound and capturing the frustrations that have haunted us this past year, Oddysseys triumphantly announce “Moaner.”
From Chicago by way of Boston, Oddysseys’s dreamy post-punk tendencies can be described as a “seductive mix of surly and breathy temper…” that bounce and echo over dreamy guitars. It’s easy to catch the influences of goth-pop and early post punk bands like The Cure and New Order but with “Moaner” odysseys take their efforts to the next level. Bellowing, melancholic vocals reverberate like hymns out of a cathedral, contrasting with the track’s sharp, restless bassline and driving tempo.
This juxtaposition is reminiscent of Joy Division, however, such comparisons are limiting. Oddysseys bring their own Odd flair to everything they do. The new single is a fresh take, a modern interpretation of a beloved genre. “Moaner” is focused on capturing the energy and anticipation of the universally difficult past year, not only with the pandemic but with instances of racial injustice and protests happening across the country.
‘We wanted to develop a project that conveyed the reasons why we wanted to scream pretty much everyday this past year. Like many of the people in this country (though not nearly enough of them), we’re fed up with the amount of social and racial injustice that we see every single day, the lack of dialogue and blatant disregard of growing global turmoil, and the lack of optimism and progress that once seemed, at the very least, attainable”
The group released their EP “Odd” in 2016 with popular tracks like “A Book That Never Ends”and “Run Prophet” and in 2019 they recorded their first LP “Odd Behavior” a wonderfully balanced 9-track album that is consistently groovy and sullen, yet dynamically adventurous. The group are not strangers to using their musical abilities to build out their world, even in a time with no live shows:
“…we want people to feel like they’re in the room with us when they’re listening to our music, especially these days where we can’t play gigs. The energy we’ve put into Moaner is a direct result of this suppressed expression and isolation that just started manifesting itself into more driving and dynamic sounds.”
The band is part of the larger Odd Haus, a community of multidisciplinary artists that offer their skills to other DIY independent artists for everything from booking shows, to creating visuals, and branding and marketing. The jarring visuals in their music
videos for “Breathe With Me” and “Fever Dreams” equally set them apart from other artists. In their zines, which are available on their instagram, Odd Haus continue their community-driven nature, speaking directly to their fans through a mix of multi-media art, collages, recipes, manifestos, and letters, talking specifically about their desires to continue reaching out to fans and include them in their constantly enfolding musical odyssey.
Be sure to pre-save the song on Spotify and Stream “Moaner” on Bandcamp now.