Oliver Keane Taps into Classic Indie Rock Stardom in EP "Motion Sickness"
Having stumbled upon Oliver via one of his earlier singles ‘3.5,' we’ve been keen to hear his upcoming EP, as that song proved he has a deft touch for sentimental pop, a melody riddled sound begging for radio play. Now the day has come, and Motion Sickness is all we had hoped for: fun, rangy, but still dialed in with hum-along pop goodness, filled with a smart savvy cadence that really feels like a step up. Given this man's keen sense of lyricism, we said, let him do the talking, and asked for him to deep dive on this 5-song EP. Consume the goodness here:
MOTION SICKNESS
Motion sickness was the best way I could describe what moving to London felt like. Going from a small village in Derby to a big city like London, meeting new people, playing shows, it felt like I was on a rollercoaster. This track went through so many different forms, it was first written right at the start 3 years ago and I re-worked it to fit the EP more right at the end of the process.
ROMEO
Romeo was a throwback to the indie bands I listened to growing up, Catfish and the Bottlemen, The Academic, Circa Waves etc.
I’d spent a bit of time on tour with a few different bands and all of them had that one song that just lifted the crowd every night without fail. I wanted my own song like that and after writing Romeo we decided to put it in the set list for the Sea Girls tour. As soon as the drums came in at the start you could see everyone in the crowd get excited and that was the moment I realised Romeo was that song.
Playing the song with my band on tour really helped me hear where I wanted to take it. The slight flare each member of the band put on it was pivotal to making the song into what it is today.
HEY
I can't really pin point an inspiration for HEY, it just flowed out of me without the need for reference. I just wanted to get all my anger towards people that have treated me badly in one song, seeing as I'd never really written about anger as I see it as a toxic emotion. At its core, it’s a toxic song about hating my ex’s.
M24
M24 is one of the most honest songs I've ever written. It’s about my first girlfriend, who I had quite a messy breakup with and I think we both held resentment towards one another. In reality, we didn’t work because we were both “cut by the same blade” and struggled with our emotions, and it’s finding the irony in the fact we hated each other for something we had in common.
GIVE ME A REASON
'Give Me A Reason' started as a ballad and lived in that space for a lot of versions but it felt like something was missing the whole time. I’d been listening to a lot of softer indie, Spacey Jane, Del Water Gap, Sam Fender and loved the huge dreamy chorus’. That’s where the chorus stemmed from. It was fun to re-work the song and be able to put time into the instrumentation. I’m proud of the song and the journey it’s been through.