This low-key debut album was recorded and self-produced in Rory Sear’s bedroom. On Slow Down, he sings “The world’s outside my window, but I’m happy here inside.”
He previously fronted a Brighton indie band ‘Beachtape’ but now wants to be alone. He takes the name of his solo project from a song by Ohio synchpunks Brainiac.
The London-based singer-songwriter plays every instrument except for drums. What began as a piano project evolved into a mainly acoustic guitar-led meditation on the precariousness of life as he edges towards 30.
With a childhood divided between Scotland, North Carolina, Portsmouth and Somerset you get the sense that Sears just wants to find a place to take stock of where he’s been and where he’s going. “I swear I'm gonna make a change this year” he pledges on Oh Well.
There’s a hushed Elliot Smith-style introspection to the nine tunes. The melodies are bright enough but the sentiments are fairly melancholy.
He says: “I talk a lot about going backwards or not progressing but I don't think it's based on a fear of that. It's more about being fine with it, being aware of it, being content.”
This is an album that swerves away from the rush and chaos of the modern world to escape into a place of self-reflection.
