The seven piece band Oedipus and The Mama’s Boys have hit the ground running with their second single that was released on the 16th of January. The Edinburgh band have made a loud debut with their first single Bleed and now they’re back and exceeding all the already high expectations of listeners: old and new.
Their debut single brought an abundance of loud instrumentals, packed with power and intensity. Yet, Stretched/Kitchens brings a slightly different vibe and highlights the band’s versatility and talent. They can bring the energy but they also can tone it down to create balance within their discography.
Lyrics are the bones of a song, they give music meaning and allow a connection to be created with the artist. ‘Oedipus and The Mama’s Boys’ created such a unique concept for this song, with members Gemima and Charlie writing two separate songs with no direct correlation and then merging the two to create Stretched/Kitchens. With Stretched appreciating the love they received and took for granted in a time they desperately needed it and Kitchens all about glorifying our muses and giving our all to them just to lose it in turn. On paper the songs shouldn’t pair as well as they do, the concept is amazing and in practice it created a song full of depth with hundreds of meanings. Music, specifically lyrics, are already personal to listeners in some way, we create our own interpretations and take away what we want from songs. By having two songs pieced together it creates another level of subjectivity, there’s more loops and things to analyse, more opportunities to relate and hone in on the connection between listeners and the artist.
Whilst lyrics are the bones of a song, the instrumentals and vocals are what bring it to life. The song builds, the haunting vocals filling the listener’s ears with the gentle instrumentals. They complement each other and connect, they’re there to uplift not to overpower. The breaking point in the song is highlighted by the contrasting loud instrumentals, suddenly every element comes together. It’s like a wave of held back emotion comes crashing down, flooding the song. It’s a release of all the held back feelings as we’re let loose from the constraints of trying to keep it together. The correlation between the lyrics and instrumentals is beautiful and pulls us into this world the band are creating in this song, we feel every emotion with them. The song ends on the same soft vocals they started with, it’s the calm after the storm, feeling as though everything that comes up must come down again.
Just from this single alone, the band have proved their talent and determination. They clearly have an idea of what they want to create and achieve which is certain to guide them to success.