Oly.

Singer-songwriter Oly. goes Bon Iver for a short but breathtaking moment.

The first time we mentioned Oly. here was – wow – almost seven years ago, when she collaborated with Fismoll on his single. A few months later, she was the one having guests, the Icelandic group Low Roar, which preceded her debut album “Home“. It took her three years to record the follow up.

Now where Oly. (whose real name is Aleksandra Komsta) is after another three years? Clearly in a fascinating place. Her just-released new EP called “sentimental.wav” brings only five songs and just over 17 minutes, but it includes some of her best songwriting, a variety of styles and moods, and lyrics both in English and Polish.

We did like the first single off the album, “Z Ziemi“, which is a simple but charming acoustic pop piece. But it was the second single “Pastlife” that blew us away. It combines the intimacy of Oly.’s vocals with terrific, multilayered arrangements culminating together in Bon Iver-like explosions.

The song’s accompanied by a video directed by Katarzyna Sawicka, a rather creepy story corresponding to what “Pastlife” is about: that life’s rarely what we plan it to be, but hey, it also makes it interesting.

The EP also brings some low-key, poetic moments like in “przez chwilę” as well as more rock-oriented “KIDS”. But “Pastlife”, with its intensity and complexity, is the clear highlight here, and a direction we hope Oly. keeps exploring.

Stream “sentimental.wav” EP on Spotify.

*

Oly. on Instagram, Facebook.

Recent music from Europe