Oly

A Hot Hooray (self-released)

By Amber Drea
Published: August 18th, 2005 | 10:58am

Oly’s debut EP contains five short tracks of glitchy beats, playful melodies, and temporal emotions. With roots in Miami booty bass, IDM, and ’90s indie rock, A Hot Hooray features keyboards, drum programming, melodicas, and Oly’s vulnerable voice. With lyrics of vivid imagery and hidden meaning and two-minute songs that leave the listener wanting more, Oly doesn’t believe in repetition. “Endless Not Aimless” is about the infinite nature of life while “No Money Fun” tells of Oly’s favorite pastime: having fun for free. On “Dead Woman,” she conveys the haunting feeling of unrequited love, singing, “The deeper I sink into the ground / the more I say your name.” The reverse loop on “Swallow” sounds as if it was recorded in a vacuum, which is appropriate for the subject matter: picking up the pieces of her broken heart. Influenced by Björk and Ella Fitzgerald, Oly is a new electronic artist with endless (not aimless) potential.