In a world where the clutches of melancholy rarely loosen their grip, Oakhands, the Munich-based math and pop infused post hardcore outfit, embarks on a sonorous journey through the shadows with their upcoming EP ‘A Circle with Many Centres’, slated to grace us on October 6 via This Charming Man Records.
Oakhands channels a blend of post-punk gloom reminiscent of the early murmurs of The Cure and Gilla Band, intertwined with a dystopian doom echoing Cult of Luna in their single “Warren Of Shining Wires”.
The song, as the band describes, is a post-hardcore-epos that unfurls the black drapes of depression, the thematic core of their impending EP. The narrative finds visual life in a dark, apocalyptic maelstrom conjured by drummer Jussi and Munich-based media artist Taja Vall, embodying an eerie, hypnotic tempest that is as gripping as it is foreboding.
The title of the EP draws inspiration from a Haruki Murakami short tale, symbolizing Oakhands’ realization of the complex, intertwined nature of emotions which cannot be neatly dissected as once believed.
This is a conceptual departure from their previous endeavor ‘The Shadow Of Your Guard Receding’, which approached emotions with a more analytical lens, embodying an artistic rendition of Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions.
‘A Circle With Many Centres’ muses on depression as the root of all emotional conflict, a theme deeply resonant in the contemporary Western milieu, making this collection a late coming-of-age chronicle exploring the post-adolescent realization of depression’s omnipresence.
Musically, Oakhands continues to honor their ‘Sturm & Drang’ dictum, carving out a soundscape that is as diverse as it is deeply connected to its lyrical and conceptual underpinnings.
Their signature sound, a radiant amalgam of post-hardcore, indie, and (Scr)E(a)mo, now embraces a more contrasting palette with dashes of math-pop and the nihilistic shades of post-punk and doom. The varying rhythmic terrain of impetuous blast beats and dreamy power ballads encapsulates the album’s bipolar expedition through depression and mania, hedonism and nihilism.
Oakhands is like a social and cultural entanglement manifesting in diverse live line-ups featuring artists from across the spectrum like Giovanni Raabe, Philipp Breese, and Jany Irro from the Corechaos collective. Their presence in hyper-gentrified Munich, a city whose urban society begs for dialogues on the interconnectedness of depression and capitalism, lends another layer to their narrative, both on and off stage.
As the days to the EP release tumble away, Oakhands is not just set to unveil a collection of songs, but a profound, melodious exploration of the melancholic abyss that resonates with the ceaseless search for understanding amidst the cacophony of life’s often jarring dissonance.
Through ‘A Circle with Many Centres’, Oakhands invites listeners to a reflective sojourn through the complex landscape of emotions, offering a sonic companion in the universal struggle against the spectral shadows of depression.
