Label: Big Scary Monsters
Released: 26th April 2024
The new Owen record is a masterclass in restraint, storytelling and embracing ennui.
Apart from a psychedelic detour in ‘Mount Cleverest’ around the midpoint of the album, the changes in mood and tone are subtle shifts here and there. The opener ‘A Reckoning’ adopts a weatherbeaten cowboy persona and ‘Hit and Run’ is at the mercy of a violent drunk, but ‘The Falls Of Sioux’ shines where Mike Kinsella feels at home.
From the cyclic rhythm of ‘Qui Je Plaisante?’ or the sprawling landscape of ‘With You Without You’, it’s an album you can easily get lost inside.