By the time final track ‘Thank You’ rolls around, Lang is pulled by both hope and regret: “I should of known better than giving you up,” he admits, thanking a break-up for making him a stronger person. Widening the scope further, the artist’s debut album ‘Chew The Scenery’ returns to themes of boredom and disenchantment, but mainly charts heartbreak with increasingly huge-sounding anthems. Initially catching people’s ears with the subtly affecting ‘She Likes Another Boy’, he’s steadily grown into an artist who delves into new sounds with every release – his third EP in 12 months, December’s ‘Antidote to Being Bored’, saw him enlist scuzzier sounds and post-punk influences – with searing results. He’s a capable songwriter with a mature and maturing perspective, which, distilled further, should provide hope for a more enjoyably cohesive second album.Over the last four years, London musician Oscar Lang has proven he’s a dab hand at dreamy pop-rock and snarling anthems alike. He’s already wisely disregarded the formalities of bedroom pop to explore indie rock, delicate electronica, and dream pop on this debut, mostly to success. ’21st Century Hobby’ sees him bemoaning how addicted his generation has become to social media, sneering “How loud do you shout/ To drown others out/ It’s all for a show.”Īged just 21, there is clear potential in Lang’s career. ‘Quarter Past Nine’, with its darker and subdued hue, sees him questioning the merits of the Other Man a potential lover has chosen ‘Take Time Out’ then contrasts this ruefulness by placing Lang as the ‘bad’ person, as he sings of being unwilling to deal with a relationship quarrel (“My head is throbbing/ Her eyes are sobbing/ It’s too early for this”). These songs possess mature and honest outlooks, belying the youthfulness of their writer (Lang was born in 2000). The jaunty ‘Are You Happy?’ might be more buoyant territory, but it doesn’t lack for that thoughtful palette. After its aching falsetto opening, ‘Final Call’ contains sweet strings and tender keys. So ‘Write Me A Letter’, with its lovelorn piano line, seems to capture the spirit of Lang As Artist better. Coldplay marched at the front of the post-Britpop era, providing melancholic contemplation in lieu of macho posturing, and although it might not be as overtly ‘cool’, it undeniably has its place. It’s when Lang settles into his groove as a pleasant and unthreatening presence that the album finds its feet. That rollicking but vapid trio of tracks almost undoes the great work of that aforementioned opening, a cleverly-constructed introduction whose electronic flourishes sound very much indebted to Tame Impala (another instrumental interlude arrives later, ‘Intermission’, which recalls the weird fuzz of Daniel Johnston). Several of the album’s tracks – ’21st Century Hobby’, ‘I Could Swear’, and ‘Stuck’ – are too reminiscent of bravado-fuelled indie landfill, the sort of scuzzy rock that marked post-’90s Oasis. After a string of well-regarded EP’s and many buzzy singles, his first full-length, Chew The Scenery, is an endearing hodgepodge of styles and fronts that demonstrates plenty of promise, even if his place in tomorrow’s music landscape remains unclear. When your debut album has been as anticipated as Oscar Lang’s, perhaps it’s acceptably bold to title the first track on it ‘Our Feature Presentation’ Lang, the London singer-songwriter, knows his own worth.
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