OK Hotel have slowly but surely cemented themselves into the base concrete structure of Aussie pop-rock, and with their latest fuzz-heavy single release ‘Life is Crazy (Like That)’ they’re now an essential part of the genre - and I dare say, without them, it could potentially die out into extinction. With a gentle and well-timed reminder that life is pretty messed up, it serves as a soothing statement that can be summarised by 'sometimes it do be like that'.
Drawing inspiration from 90s giants such as Sonic Youth and The Smashing Pumpkins, the Gong trio brings a refreshing twenty-first century take on the classic ‘golden oldies’ rock by cranking the distortion and adding a sprinkling of melancholia.
‘Life is Crazy (Like That)’ is really just a big chorus full of an anthemic mood, jam packed with hooks for days. With that said, it's a spot-on coming of age teen movie soundtrack… Think Bluewater High mixed with a dash of 10 Things I Hate About you, which equals a perfectly balanced Aussie tune.
The chorus is so BIG it can drown out the wave of emotions that come with the lyrics- only just. The interwoven guitars and vocals add to the massive noise that saturates you like sweat from a pushy and packed mosh. Tinged with the smell of spilt beer on a venues carpet floor, the track just screams ‘festival-encore’ (and if you listen closely, you can hear whispers of Triple J listeners past and present chiming in with quiet ‘tuuuuuuuuuuuuneeeeee’’s).
This song was literally made to be played at a Hottest 100 pool party complete with Goon of Doom, horrific sunburn and muddy waterslides - as it comes on high in the ranks the crowd goes quiet, the backyard cricket and shooeys cease as for 3 minutes and 23 seconds everyone is absorbed in the music.
As a whole, their music reminds me of sad sweethearts ‘Dear Seattle’ - complete with melancholic, yet catchy lyrics, which need to be screamed not sung, and felt not heard.
“Everything I wanted to say came out in the ‘life is crazy like that’ chorus line,” said the band. “It was one of those rare occasions where the chorus wrote itself, with not much more than a single phrase. It was the very first thing I said on a voice memo and it stuck.
"Growing up we get worn down by things we love, and not knowing where to start mapping boundaries can be tough. The songs about unhealthy friendships and questioning what it is that keeps people together in the first place."
The band have clearly found their sound and are evolving with it; their debut release ‘Swim’ caught the ears of many and brought them great acclaim from fellow musicians and fans alike, and 'Life Is Crazy (Like That)' is guaranteed to have done the exact same. If one good thing comes out of 2020, it would be this band and this song. That is all.
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