Friday 12 May 2017

Olneya - S/T (EP Review)


Release date: Dec 30th 2016. Label: Self Released. Format: CD/DD

Olneya – Tracklisting

1.mantra 03:12
2.zerouno 06:16
3.zero due 04:48
4.Road to Aokigahara 01:50
5.zero tre 06:00

Members:

Maurizio Morea : guitars
Pj : drums
Enry Cava: bass

Review

Olneya are an Instrumental Psych/Stoner Rock band from Italy. Their debut EP whilst not offering anything new does show that the band have keen eye for sonic experimentation. Influenced by bands such as Kyuss and Black Sabbath. Their music can be quite mellow at times but eerily heavy at the same time.

Opening track – Mantra – is a droned out/space rock song that is played at a slow pace. It would have been better if the band played a faster style of music on this track. Second track – zerouno – is a superb song that merges Desert Rock, Psych and Stoner Rock riffs with a gloomy based atmosphere.

Third track – zero due – carries on the heavy spaced out sound with the Olneya adding a more grunge style sound. The final two tracks – Road To Aokigahara and zero tre – sees the band creating their most experimental and perhaps best tracks on the EP. Especially with Road To Aokigahara, as it is a droned out desert rock/post-rock kind of sound.

The final song – zero tre – has a more natural flow and feel compared the other tracks. This is the song that I feel represents Olneya's true sound. The song felt like it had a beginning, middle and an end. If the band created more great songs such as this EP would be considered a great release instead of a solid and highly enjoyable one.

The other issue I have is the production. I know that Olneya are a DIY band and I applaud that. The issue I have with the EP is the volume of it all. It's far too low and there were moments I had to turn the volume to almost maximum levels on my laptop.

I don't want to be too hard on the band. As Olneya do have potential if they manage to release a better produced EP. I actually want to hear more music from Olneya as they have me intrigued in which direction they will go next.

Words by Steve Howe

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