♫♪  Olan - “Saint Homeless”

Ashley Paul’s recharged label Wagtail label printed its first release (fifth overall) of Olan’s Monk in May. Through heavy synth lines and deary vocals often strung together to create a closed space, with wide-eyed unabated consciousness, Olan has manicured an unsettled anointment of heart and home in Monk. Take the upbeat plea of “Saint Heartless;” here, Olan barely breathes, singing and rephrasing “I need you to say that you need it from me” over two and a half minutes before finally ending with “say that you only need me,” a partial beg for confirmation without seeming entirely enthused. Only to get further into his head on the next track, “Saint Homeless,” Olan wades in self-doubt over a killer dizzying beat, blending-on-high “what am I” with an affirming chorus for a conflict with the casual: “Casual life, casual death, what am I.”

“Saint Heartless” and “Saint Homeless” sit back-to-back on the first half of Monk and, along with the other five tracks, feature this unpolished, blown-out pop distress made out of restrictive old equipment, found sample banks, and the effected voice. Check out the video for “Saint Homeless,” which we have the pleasure of premiering here:

Olan’s Monk is available for purchase on Wagtail’s website as a numbered edition of 200 cassettes, handmade by Ashley Paul and designed by Olan himself.

• Olan: http://olan.xyz
• Wagtail Records: http://wagtailrecords.com

Chocolate Grinder

CHOCOLATE GRINDER is our audio/visual section, with an emphasis on the lesser heard and lesser known. We aim to dig deep, but we’ll post any song or video we find interesting, big or small.

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