I've been sitting here, playing the songs of twenty-one year old British singer Ollie Wride, who the Guardian's New Band of the Day introduced me to, over and over again, trying to decide which one to feature.I can't decide. I just can't.
I think there are two reasons for that, one bad and one good. Let's get the bad out of the way first: none of them really stand out as a smash hit single in the universe we currently live in, unfortunately--at least not as they and the charts currently stand. Ollie's songs sometimes still feel just a little more like great genre experiments, rather than hit songs, than they should. Nothing that a little refining couldn't fix.
HeadRush by Ollie Wride
Now, the good reason: each and every song has "cue PG falling madly in love with this artist's musical output" written all over it. Ollie, who had a development deal with a major label but is now unsigned, cites Freddie Mercury as one of his biggest inspirations, and you can hear that in his music; he may not bear a vocal resemblance to the Queen frontman, but there's a common interest in glam. On a similar tip, Ollie was brought in to write songs with Meat Loaf for what became Hang Cool, Teddy Bear and though none of his songs made the album, you can see why the match-up was made.
21st Century Love by Ollie Wride
Still, the '80s-inspired glittery synth-filled musical backdrops he and collaborators like Royworld's Rod and Crispin Futrille have created are unlike anything I've heard Freddie sing over--they're more like the foolhardy, party-ready, take-on-the-world teenage cousins of the instrumentals of songs by Performance, the Bang Bang Club, or Dyno. Apparently Ollie was also asked to write songs for Sophie Ellis-Bextor and, though once again I don't think any of his songs made the cut, it's just as easy to see why that match-up was made; there's a bold electronic pop shimmer to all Ollie's tracks.
This Isn't Paradise by Ollie Wride
The seven songs on Ollie's SoundCloud page are easy on the ear, like listening to a four out of five stars album that you can play over and over again without boredom setting in and with a sense of excitement that counterbalances the lack of the single. I love them all, but they also give you the sense that he's on the verge of something incredible...and you can't help hoping he takes that one more step, finds that one song that makes it all happen for him. His work right now, though, is highly recommended.
Spotlights by Ollie Wride
There's nowhere to buy Ollie Wride's music yet, but visit him on MySpace here.
Dance To Survive by Ollie Wride
(All right, I'll cut myself off there. The remaining two songs are JUST as great, though.)
Pop Music by Ollie Wride
(I mean, I'll stop there. Really. But how could I leave out the strings, going-underwater-a-la-"Love At First Sight," and big glammy chorus of that song?)
We Won by Ollie Wride
(*cough* OK, done. Though there is a song from his old band still up elsewhere on MySpace and one of his collaborators has a pretty cool project going and--"*yanked off stage*)
