An old soul is, characteristically, someone that is wise beyond their years. The human embodiment of multitudes of life experience and careful observation working in tandem to eradicate the idea that age is the sole factor that determines the way you perceive or react to things. This can reflect a person’s taste or the way that they handle themselves in conversation– although it’s usually a marriage of the two. You don’t need to look any further than the incredible Lowell, MA-based oldsoul to see this concept come to life.
There is a sense warmth and precision that comes from the musical output of this band — marrying sweeping indie-rock with the warmth of soul, not unlike bands like Empty Houses or People Like You. The band is young, their gearing up to release their debut album, and have executed it with the kind of vision and bite that bands much further into their career can’t always seem to find. I could not be more excited to introduce you all to this incredible record. Oldsoul will release Coy this Friday on Counter Intuitive Records, and I could not be more excited to share it with y’all!
Coy was an interesting choice for an album title– the artwork shows that it may be literal and representative of a koi fish, but the idea that a band with this much heart and emotional poignancy chose a title that eludes to being meek or shy is a bit mind-boggling. Especially when you consider that throughout their debut, the quartet never feels smaller than the room you’re playing it in. The sound grows with its environment and something new bounces back at you every time– whether it comes from Jess’s powerful and emotionally provocative vocals to the marriage of math-rock and new-age jazz that help the record to feel as full-bodied as it does. Every listen to Coy leaves you ruminating on just what how poignant this record truly feels.
The album opens with the incredible “Why You Go.” The track showcases Jess’s powerful vocals as they soar over (and in beautiful harmony with) the staccato guitar work that makes you want to dance like one of the Peanuts kids and scream along with Jess as she howls with the kind of emotional ferocity that can only come from genuine heartache. They chose to close with the weight of “The Sun, the Sun, the Sun.” The song feels dark and is immediately consuming, easing you in with a gentle strum and the delicately sung “Heavy with guilt I cannot move/watch you circle around the room” and things stay somber until around the halfway mark. That’s when the world collapses in on itself– everything begins to whir and crash and we hear that intensity in Jess’s voice again. The album ends on a slow-fade of this intensity– never losing bite, never losing focus, never being coy about the amount of heart and emotion that went into crafting these songs.
When asked about the record, vocalist Jess Hall said: “It’s about overcoming feelings of not being taken seriously, feeling belittled, and dealing with the emotional turmoil that life brings you.” You can stream Coy in full below.
https://soundcloud.com/user-784158302/sets/oldsoul-coy/s-Ylq8b
Coy is out Feb 9th on Counter Intutive Records. Snag your copy here.
