overtheweather
party socks LP

Released in April 2021, Party Socks is the second long-player from overtheweather, who got a nod from Old Neon in our end-of-year call out for new music. The album is a rich and warm rock record with emo threads reminiscent of The Early November.

It all starts with ‘bönk’, a sub-three-minute stomper with great rhythmic stabs and smart bass and drum interplay in the verses. The juddering sections haul back on the reigns for a half-beat chorus with a huge sound. It’s a seamless transfer to ‘tom. (feat. tom)’, which offers up more of the rhythm-centric drive. This song slips from stomp to speed, with the vocals getting to move up and down the angsty scales in accompaniment. There is a disorienting structure to the song that I really appreciate.

Smoldering with dark emo atmosphere, ‘community day’ has breakdowns with group vocals and the gravelly lead is joined by a neat harmony when things hit the mid point. It’s an intelligently composed anthem.

The half-way point is marked by ‘totes (not an interlude)’, which is like a Placebo b-side with haunting guitars and spoken words pushed low in the mix. It’s just a minute and a half, which shows great self-control on what might otherwise have become a self-indulgent twenty-minute shoegaze.

The title track steps up next with a hooky guitar line intro. It’s almost impossible not to chant along to the “I’m okay now” line in this song, so just go ahead and do it. We don’t always have to be self-controlled.

Sparkling along in the penultimate spot is ‘tried and true american grandpa (feat. Connor Freer)’, which is a slow screamo filled with a muddy intensity. The guitar is abandoned to its outro before the vibrant ‘trashcan’ closes the album like a heavy Johnny Marr track.

I absolutely love the tone on this album. The instruments are well combined to create a sound that has a wall-of-noise crash with smart switches akin to Rival Schools. In the vocal department, there is plenty of quality throughout the melodies and through each notch that leads up the emotional scales. It’s a loud record that remains melodic and full of interest throughout.

This is a really great listen if you like things to kick up some powerful noise.

Watch overtheweather – party socks

Overtheweather

Written by Fenton on 28th December 2021

Steve Fenton writes in our music, words, and culture categories. He was Editor in Chief for The Mag and covered live music for DV8 Magazine and Spill Magazine. He was often found in venues throughout the UK alongside ace-photographer, Mark Holloway. Steve is also a technical writer and programmer and writes gothic fiction. Steve studied Psychology at OSC, and Anarchy in the UK: A History of Punk from 1976-1978 at the University of Reading.