Oyawa - EP Review: The Mary Anning EP
Oyawa is a three-piece indie/alternative band hailing from Auckland, although the
members come from all over, and is made up of the collective efforts of Brett
Garrity, Miles Gillett and Nikki Ngatai.
Formed in late 2011, this isn’t the first time I’ve heard of Oyawa and after
listening to this EP I’ll be keeping an eye out for their upcoming
shows - I suggest you do the same.
The first thing that caught my attention was name of this EP, The Mary Anning EP, Mary Anning was
a famous English fossil collector, dealer, and palaeontologist (her most famous
being in Jurassic marine fossil beds). I absolutely love this nod to history and
think it’s a great touch. The album cover also reflects this.
Secondly I want to talk about the overall sound of this EP, I need to mention
the respect I have for vocalist Nikki’s melodic tones throughout the entire
album, as it adds something that you don’t hear in New Zealand bands all too often, and she definitely adds something unique to the overall feel.
From the moment the first track See You Through started I was instantly
reminded of Tool, from the sound of the bass and drums. When the vocals kick
in, everything just ties together so beautifully.
Another track I feel the need to talk about is Darkness Has No Name. Lyrically
it’s hands down my favourite and musically is reminds me of another New Zealand
band I Am Giant. Normally I try to avoid comparing local bands to others, but I
can’t help it this time, and trust me when I say that that’s a compliment.
You can tell that a lot of love and time
has clearly been put into every aspect of this EP, I sincerely cannot wait to
hear more from Oyawa and I imagine that seeing them preform would be quite an
experience as well. Do yourself a favour and go pick up The Mary Anning as soon as you
can.
Review written by Jessie Armstrong
About Oyawa
Nikki Ngatai, singer/guitarist, sings like she should be in the Vandellas whilst playing guitar like she should be in Polvo. The other guitarist Cliff Bateman saw the Who in utero but favors the harsh tones of certain touch and go bands. There are no rhythm and lead roles as they push and pull and clash against each other whilst the rhythm section churn away in the foreground. The drummer Miles Gillett was raised by a prog jazzer but fell in love with the simplicity of American Indie and hardcore while Brett Garrity on bass believes that repetition is not a dirty word and also provides counterpoint vocals to the melodic singing up front.
If all this seems a bit noisy…it is…but they also know when to shut up and what it takes to make a song both accessible and also interesting.
Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Oyawa
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