Last month when Chicago experimental pop duo Ohmme announced their much anticipated debut full length album Parts, they shared album opener and first single "Icon": a brighter, more pop rooted cut than the occasionally folky, more darkly textured tracks of their self-titled debut EP. Though not quite a completely jarring shift, it did display that Ohmme's game plan for the full length would be much more of opening themselves to different than doubling down on what they've already offered. Though "Icon" featured more consonant guitar riffs in line with Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart's impeccable vocal harmonies, the duo didn't completely divorce themselves from abrasiveness as the song takes a dramatic tonal shift and incorporates some of those angular, rougher hewn elements.
"Water", our second taste of the duo's full length, is a dip into turbulent waters once again. It's an experiment in opposites as Cunningham and Stewart's guitars cut aggressive shapes alongside Matt Carroll's similarly intense drumming while their vocals stream out in clean arcs. Ohmme established early on a knack for blending seemingly conflicting, dissimilar textures, and somehow finding a way to stitch them together into a cohesive musical tapestry and "Water" is no different as Cunningham and Stewart take grit, add propulsive energy, and essentially end up creating glass. "Water" is brief but severe musical science experiment happening in real time and the result is a work of art equal parts crude and elegant: the brilliant cacophony giving way to its beautiful, crystalline climax.
Parts, Ohmme's debut full length album, is out August 24th on Joyful Noise Recordings. Pre-orders are available for the record now.
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