Recent Constellation Records signees Ought have just dropped the first song to be released from their forthcoming debut LP on the legendary Montreal label. The album is dropping on April 29th, and is titled More Than Any Other Day.
Admittedly, I'm a bit of a sucker for wordy rock 'n' roll with eccentric vocalists. I occasionally have to remind myself to really wonder if what I'm hearing is actually good, or if the band in question is just scratching some insatiable itch of mine.
Yes, Ought does scratch that itch, but I think there's something truly genuine and moving about the slow-burning instrumentation and erratic vocal delivery of "Habit." Singer Tim Beeler's voice doesn't feel too different from that of a young David Byrne, and the guitars on this track sound like something out of a Midwestern emo release from the mid-90s. The instrumentation grows in intensity as the music progresses, and the band lifts these guitars and drums with some wonderful strings and electric piano.
At the finish line, "Habit" gets pretty noisy. I suppose the wailing strings and repeated shouts of "I FEEL A HABIT FORMING," are giving off "Heroin" vibes as well. And that's not just an aesthetic comparison either, because Ought creates a similar kind of magic, I think. Enjoy!