Review: Lost Time Traveller by Oh Well

There isn't a whole lot of information about Oh Well online, but what I can determine is that this is not a comeback of the late 80s German Eurodance group who produced that terrible Fleetwood Mac cover everyone had forgotten about. This Oh Well is actually a one-man project from Chicago who produces a heady and progressive mix of EDM beats, orchestral instrumentation and indie-pop vocals. His Insomnia EP released last year was a strange but intriguing mixture which reminded me of the turn of the century sound-clash style that came from the The Avalances and Mint Royale among others. With his new single Lost Time Traveller he continues in this vein whilst going even further to define his sound.

Lost Time Traveller, rather appropriately, manages to be simultaneously modern and vintage in sound. It mashes together a strutting string section with 90s big-beat vibes and a late-period dubstep rhythm (by which I mean the likes of Skrillex and Rusko rather than Skream or Kode-9). It fuses blue-eyed-soul vocals with heavy bass drops and sound effects that appear to be taken from a 1930s radio broadcast, or at least synthesised to sound that way.

This wide array of sounds from different time periods is clearly designed to fit to the theme of the song, and despite it being a strange mix of sonic styles, it really works. The song's hooks are catchy and fun, and there's an easy and intuitive flow to the track. The lyrical narrative is fairly simple and consists of some pretty catchy lines from the titular Doctor Who-esque character, so you can very easily imagine people singing along to this.

Considering the variety of genres which Oh Well pulled together on the Insomnia EP, it's no surprise that Lost Time Traveller does much of the same, but this time it's done in a more refined manner. The slightly chaotic electronica of before is more structured and measured here, and as such this is a really engaging tune that easily gets stuck in your head. Oh Well now feels like he is in control, with his hands on the wheel and the sat-nav turned on; or perhaps his Tardis is programmed to traverse the sonic vortex. Oh Well certainly sounds like a time traveller, but he definitely isn't lost.

You can listen to Lost Time Traveller and more from Oh Well on Spotify.

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