Words: ROBIN MUMFORD
Homing in on his shoegaze artistry, Oliver Beardmore impresses with perpetual lustre in his debut EP ‘Not Sinking, Yet Floating’. The Birmingham-born and London-based musician welcomes the world to his soundscape with an almighty statement of musical brilliance.
Despite only releasing his debut EP this week, Oliver’s highbrow lyricism has been in his mantra since his journey started in 2017 and 2018. At a young age, he produced music that roped comparisons to indie staples such as Noel Gallagher.
The unrelenting gigging that ensued plotted his name on the musical map, and after a hiatus from the studio, Beardmore is on course for his biggest year to date. Seeking a new direction to his indie inception, the Birmingham-born talent defines his new music with a sonic palate which places him at the end of a more avant-garde lineage: inspired by shoegaze and dream pop royalty of the likes of The Cocteau Twins and Slowdive, but with a melodic sensibility more akin to Lana Del Rey and Mazzy Star.
While the initial singles in the EP are more on the jet-propelled side of things, with the likes of ‘I’m Sure You Know’ and the already released ‘Fiesta’ taking the EP by the scruff of the neck, the rest of the EP further explores combinations of prehistoric guitar walls and reverb-drenched synths, while ethereal hooks and trademark song writing prevail at the project’s core.
Lyrically and spiritually, the songs across the EP reflect on the nostalgia and personal interrogation in the wake of a particularly jarring separation and, while not following an especially conceptual arc, they provide a depth of introspection that makes them relatable as well as captivating.
Certainly, it is the endless waves of shoegaze and dreamy flavours that will be the initial takeaways for listeners, but ‘Not Sinking, Yet Floating’ has so much more to offer, and it is truly a culmination of the last 70 years of independent songwriting and guitar music.
There is something emphatically special about Oliver Beardmore’s music, and while this debut EP is just the start, it feels as though he has been making music for decades of compelling soundscapes.
What are you waiting for? Listen. Listen. Listen. And listen again, 100 times over.
"Not Sinking, Yet Floating" is out tomorrow, Friday the 18th of Feb.
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