Quietly consistent, experimental, cohesive and beautifully emotional, OVERO exude confidence with their unique approach to post hardcore, tying in both emo subtleties, touchy indie and post rock textures and harsh post hardcore bursts to form an incredibly pleasant and enjoyable listen that doesn’t tire even after repeated spins. Locked into their new classy 10-tracker “Waiting for the End to Begin”, the new batch of songs demands attention and it’s easily one of our picks for post hardcore album of the year so far. To celebrate, we have teamed up with the band to give you their first hand commentary about each and every track from the album!
Waiting for the End to Begin was recorded with Jay Littleton of the band Fairweather. This release sees the band pushing harder in all directions with tracks that are harsher, softer, and more experimental than the band’s debut. Mariachi strings, synths, acoustic guitar, trumpet, 80’s hardcore beatdowns, and other unexpected sounds weave in and out against the band’s hallmark call-and-response vocals.
For fans of: Yaphet Kotto, Daitro, Raein, Touché Amore, Defeater
Overo formed in November 2018 with members of Perfect Future, football, etc., and Rose Ette.
Fueled by a passion for experimentation, intensity, and a time when emo was much closer to hardcore, the band burst onto the scene with with its self-titled debut album in the summer of 2019.
NPR said the LP channeled “the heavy, interlocking guitar histrionics of Indian Summer and Dahlia Seed,” while Kerrang called it “raw and accomplished, beautiful and visceral.”
Between its two LPs, the band released splits with Asthenia (JPN), Punch On! (UK), Coma Regalia (USA), and Zochor (UK), toured the US and UK, and released its “alter-ego” slowcore project, Tobiano.
OVERO is: Lindsay Minton – guitar/vocals, Brendan Stephens – guitar/vocals, John Baldwin – drums, Mercy Harper – bass
“Waiting for the End to Begin” is out today, April 20, 2022, digitally and on vinyl (300 black / 200 white) via Middle-man Records (US), strictly no capital letters (UK), Pundonor Records (ESP), zilpzalp records (DE).
Walls
The opening track we tried writing not long after our first lp. For some reason, it took a while for us to finally get it right. And thankfully, it finally came together because I think it became one of our strongest songs we’ve written to date and really showcases all sides of Overo.
Dumpster Full of Glass
The chorus is really different for us since usually Lindsay and I trade off on vocals rather than share the part and lyrics. We already knew we were going to be recording the album with Jay Littleton from Fairweather, and from the first time we played the song it was kind of a given we were going to ask him to join in on the chorus as well. The strings during the outro are one of my favorite moments on the whole record. Within the band, “Dumpster Full of Glass” is probably our most loved song name.
Never
I believe this is the most recent song we’ve written as Overo. Since a lot of our songs have a formula where a pretty part is sandwiched between two heavy riffs, I wanted to reverse that and have this song’s main part be a quiet part with a really heavy tremolo riff in the middle to break it up.
Chestnut Hill
This is my personal favorite song on the record. It’s actually a pretty complicated song with a lot of little moments where things fall away or change for just one bar–especially with the rhythm section. Yet to me it still sounds natural and straight-forward. Most of the best songs in my opinion are like that: a simple sounding song but when you pay attention you notice a ton of nuance.
Fading
Even though we are a band where almost all of the songs are written in some form before we start working on them, Overo tends to jam a fair bit when practicing, especially warming up. Though it’s usually just for fun, “Fading” came entirely out of one of those warm-up jams. The album’s title came from a lyric in this song after Lindsay noticed that lyrically a lot of the songs on this record are about a growing sense that things don’t get better.
Lung Compliance / Witness
Just like our first LP, we always planned on having a Houston poet read over an interlude to begin the B-side of the album. This time we were incredibly fortunate to have the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation fellow Roberto Tejada contribute two poems. He’s an old school Mexico City punk, so he thankfully totally understood our vision and entrusted us with his work.
It Won’t Be Pretty
This song was written first on bass by Mercy, which gives this song a different vibe. Not only is she a different kind of songwriter, but this also leads to the reverse of most songs where the bass has to find its place amongst the guitars. Rather with “It Won’t Be Pretty” both guitars needed to find their place to compliment the bass riffs. It’s also the song which probably has our heaviest hardcore breakdown.
Body
I could endlessly loop the intro which was written by Kaia Fisher of Rainer Maria, one of our collective favorite bands. My vocals during the verse where I’m shouting rather than screaming almost felt like a call back to some of my past bands where I mostly had talky/shouty vocals.
Lost Our Way
This song exists because of our UK tour with Punch On! Night after night, that band was so incredible, and when the tour was over I was feeling really inspired. When I was showing the rest of Overo this song I kept saying, “Play this part like Punch On! would play it.”
Without You
Personally, I feel like the last track of an album should be written specifically as a closer. That was certainly the case with “Without You.” That is why it’s such a melancholic song. It’s also exceptionally rare for me to take the lead with clean vocals. Next to such a strong singer as Lindsay, I feel more comfortable staying in my lane and just screaming my head off. But it felt important to challenge myself to be more vulnerable as the album closes.
