“The Line or Curve” is a debut extended play release by San Francisco-based quintet Octavian Winters. It consists of five tracks showcasing the group’s knack for creating exceptional compositions that combine several complementary music genres. Perhaps post-punk comes to mind first, but you’ll immediately notice how goth rock, darkwave, shoegaze, dream pop, indie, and alternative elements found their way into this fine collection of cathartic songs. This comprehensive collection of genres serves as more than necessary enhancements, accentuations, decorations, and other details that uplift this magnificent sonic journey on an entirely new level, while the band remains loyal to the primary sonic direction.
As soon as you press play, you’ll notice how Octavian Winters‘ music shines with tremendous ambiance. Each composition carries many impressive themes, melodies, harmonies, chord progressions, and riffs while the equally detailed low-end notes play a significant role in providing more heaviness, depth, and clarity to the mix. It’s also good to mention that exceptional synth performance decorates each song with catchy synth leads, sequences, and ambiances. The flawless drumming performance is based upon moderate, well-accentuated rhythmic sequences, beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics that define the groove and pace, but also keep the remainder of the instrumentations in line. Still, the magnificent lead vocal performance steals the show with an impressive vocal range that perfectly emphasizes all the orchestrations. Her balance between low, mid, and high notes leads the listeners throughout this enchanting musical journey with such precision.
Octavian Winters continuously balances between contemporary and retro post-punk sound, but their sound goes far beyond this genre. They undoubtedly experiment with many sonic ingredients borrowed from goth rock and psychedelic rock, while the constant presence of various effects like reverb, echo, and delay contribute to resemblance with shoegaze or dream pop sound. Their ability to create profoundly detailed, multilayered compositions, where every instrumentation acts like a well-articulated soundscape, goes beyond comprehension many times during the entire extended play release. It’s difficult to pick favorites when the entire material sounds this good, but “Undertow,” “Surreal,” and “Velveteen” are undoubtedly standout tracks.
You should check out “The Line or Curve” if you’re into psychedelic post-punk or goth rock sound, because Octavian Winters invested so much time and ideas into their new material, and their effort resulted in five excellent numbers that will immediately become your go-to tracks whenever you need such music. It’s one of the best post-punk releases you’ll hear this year. The EP is available on all streaming platforms. Don’t miss it!
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