Oh How It Ended
We were recently contacted by Oh How It Ended, an Ontario based band combining numerous styles of music with storybook style lyrics and an emphasis on verse-chorus structures (their words!). Setting out with their album, Brown Rock, this promises to be an entertaining journey through the world of music – so enough with the words and on with the music!
Opening with Everglades you’re immediately confronted by a sludgy and powerful guitar line before all of a sudden, everything seems to be elevated. Combining a soaring lead line with a roving bass and hammering drum line, the feeling here is one of movement and good times – forming a sound which is surely crafted for the live scene. There’s a sound akin to early Silverchair going on here initially, but once the chorus kicks in this goes out the window and we take a turn for the harder style of things. What I really liked about this track was how everything always seems to be moving, there’s just so much going on within the mix here that it’s impossible to know where to listen, but the overall mix just takes over and pulls you into it.
Great Northern Raid continues this idea of creating massive sounding tracks which are going to fill the room with ambience, once again launching into a hard hitting melee of power and distortion. Somehow combining the hard hitting approach with a sense of melody, this is a track which stands out as a serious highpoint on the album for me, once again showing that these guys are going to be a serious force to be reckoned with. Old Man Jenkins comes up next and opens things in a more laid back manner, this time fading the guitar line with some echo before once again commencing the story telling of the track. It’s striking how the band have managed to craft a sound which tells a story both through the lyrics and the music, it’s a well formed mix done well. It’s also worth noting just how powerful the vocal line is on all of these tracks, it’s the ability to combine singing with hard hitting roars which makes it stand out, something you wouldn’t expect from a band just setting out.
Touring The Sun is another serious highpoint on the album, launching straight into a bass heavy mix with a snippet of added funk designed to get you moving. It’s testament to the bands ability to craft songs when you hear just how well put together this track is, combing enough funk to get you moving and enough power to make this stand up well against the sludgiest of stoner rock bands. Roving bass, hammering guitar lines, pounding drums and gravelly, deep vocals – this track has got everything you could possibly want, once again raising the bar for themselves. Gold Plated Rhinoceri tones everything down to a more chilled out level, once again keeping the bass heavy and forming a mix which is going to sit you back and make you want to just let the music wash over you. Upping the pace once again for the chorus section, the combination of hard and soft makes this another hard hitting track and the one which I would personally count as my favourite off of the album – it’s got a strange combination of almost reggae undertones combined with a rock fronting, something I’ve never really come across before but I want to hear more of.
Thieves and Djentlemen comes up next, once again creating that chilled out feeling through a softened guitar combined with the heavy and rumbling bass line. The bass line seems to rove around the neck, creating a further sense of movement before thrusting you back into the pit of hammering guitars which makes up the chorus. This is another striking track from this Ontario unit, another track which is going to stand out and make you want to hear more. Moving into The Invasion, the stranger side of the band is shown off and we’re treated to some radio effects before being thrown into another track which has been crafted for the live scene. Fast, sludgy and powerful, this is a track which shows off the bands heavier side and will confirm that they’re a group to see on the live scene – continuing the sludgy approach throughout the track and forcing you along for the ride. Despite the sludgy and powerful undertones there’s still a sense of melody here, somehow combining the melody with the power to form something which could well work on a radio as well as on a live stage.
Penultimate track Wolves Of War continues to show off the heavier side to the band, once again throwing down into a pumping melee of hammering guitar lines, layered vocals and pounding drum lines. Once again keeping the guitars sludgy whilst the bass roves around, there’s once again so many elements going on within the track that it’s hard to know where to listen at first, but soon enough you realise you’ve just given in and gone with it – and it doesn’t disappoint. Closing with Butterfly Man there’s one last moment of pure sludgy indulgence to close things off, closing the album on a high and leaving you wanting more. Once again crafting one final track full to the brim with guitar lines, roving bass moments and pounding drums, as a closing track this one does what is says on the tin and showcases what the band can do, leaving you wanting more and knowing that this is a band we need to get to the UK.
I don’t know what I expected from Oh How It Ended, but it wasn’t this! What I found here was a band who can tell stories in their music, create songs which work melodically as well as on a heavy note and leave you simply breathless as you try to understand how it’s all working. Throughout the album there’s moments of heavy which make you remember why you started going to gigs, but there’s also the softer moments which remind you why you started listening to music in the first place – in short – it’s a triumph.
To find out more about Oh How It Ended, check out their Bandcamp page HERE and their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls.
Opening with Everglades you’re immediately confronted by a sludgy and powerful guitar line before all of a sudden, everything seems to be elevated. Combining a soaring lead line with a roving bass and hammering drum line, the feeling here is one of movement and good times – forming a sound which is surely crafted for the live scene. There’s a sound akin to early Silverchair going on here initially, but once the chorus kicks in this goes out the window and we take a turn for the harder style of things. What I really liked about this track was how everything always seems to be moving, there’s just so much going on within the mix here that it’s impossible to know where to listen, but the overall mix just takes over and pulls you into it.
Great Northern Raid continues this idea of creating massive sounding tracks which are going to fill the room with ambience, once again launching into a hard hitting melee of power and distortion. Somehow combining the hard hitting approach with a sense of melody, this is a track which stands out as a serious highpoint on the album for me, once again showing that these guys are going to be a serious force to be reckoned with. Old Man Jenkins comes up next and opens things in a more laid back manner, this time fading the guitar line with some echo before once again commencing the story telling of the track. It’s striking how the band have managed to craft a sound which tells a story both through the lyrics and the music, it’s a well formed mix done well. It’s also worth noting just how powerful the vocal line is on all of these tracks, it’s the ability to combine singing with hard hitting roars which makes it stand out, something you wouldn’t expect from a band just setting out.
Touring The Sun is another serious highpoint on the album, launching straight into a bass heavy mix with a snippet of added funk designed to get you moving. It’s testament to the bands ability to craft songs when you hear just how well put together this track is, combing enough funk to get you moving and enough power to make this stand up well against the sludgiest of stoner rock bands. Roving bass, hammering guitar lines, pounding drums and gravelly, deep vocals – this track has got everything you could possibly want, once again raising the bar for themselves. Gold Plated Rhinoceri tones everything down to a more chilled out level, once again keeping the bass heavy and forming a mix which is going to sit you back and make you want to just let the music wash over you. Upping the pace once again for the chorus section, the combination of hard and soft makes this another hard hitting track and the one which I would personally count as my favourite off of the album – it’s got a strange combination of almost reggae undertones combined with a rock fronting, something I’ve never really come across before but I want to hear more of.
Thieves and Djentlemen comes up next, once again creating that chilled out feeling through a softened guitar combined with the heavy and rumbling bass line. The bass line seems to rove around the neck, creating a further sense of movement before thrusting you back into the pit of hammering guitars which makes up the chorus. This is another striking track from this Ontario unit, another track which is going to stand out and make you want to hear more. Moving into The Invasion, the stranger side of the band is shown off and we’re treated to some radio effects before being thrown into another track which has been crafted for the live scene. Fast, sludgy and powerful, this is a track which shows off the bands heavier side and will confirm that they’re a group to see on the live scene – continuing the sludgy approach throughout the track and forcing you along for the ride. Despite the sludgy and powerful undertones there’s still a sense of melody here, somehow combining the melody with the power to form something which could well work on a radio as well as on a live stage.
Penultimate track Wolves Of War continues to show off the heavier side to the band, once again throwing down into a pumping melee of hammering guitar lines, layered vocals and pounding drum lines. Once again keeping the guitars sludgy whilst the bass roves around, there’s once again so many elements going on within the track that it’s hard to know where to listen at first, but soon enough you realise you’ve just given in and gone with it – and it doesn’t disappoint. Closing with Butterfly Man there’s one last moment of pure sludgy indulgence to close things off, closing the album on a high and leaving you wanting more. Once again crafting one final track full to the brim with guitar lines, roving bass moments and pounding drums, as a closing track this one does what is says on the tin and showcases what the band can do, leaving you wanting more and knowing that this is a band we need to get to the UK.
I don’t know what I expected from Oh How It Ended, but it wasn’t this! What I found here was a band who can tell stories in their music, create songs which work melodically as well as on a heavy note and leave you simply breathless as you try to understand how it’s all working. Throughout the album there’s moments of heavy which make you remember why you started going to gigs, but there’s also the softer moments which remind you why you started listening to music in the first place – in short – it’s a triumph.
To find out more about Oh How It Ended, check out their Bandcamp page HERE and their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls.