WOAH doesn’t “want to fight it anymore”: sitting in an open room Review
WOAH -sitting in an open room Review
By Christina Ryan-Wilson
Photo: Sam Monendo
Could it be that dream-pop shall be the next genre to soundtrack millions of youths, the reigning supreme of Spotify playlists belonging to angst-ridden indie kids across the globe? WOAH seems to believe so. The Charlotte-based band, composed of Michael ‘Mikey’ Gomez, Ruben Gomez, Zac Tice, and Jack Martin, is eager to make their mark, and they make quite the case for themselves. Each song from their follow-up EP titled sitting in an open room could fit quite snugly in any number of modern coming-of-age films; nearly every track is begging to be screamed from the top of one’s lungs as they drive down an empty street.
The six-track EP kicks off with the fuzzy, Dayglow-tinged “i don’t wanna die when i’m with you” makes for easy listening as Mikey Gomez croons in a soft tenor as synths and Ruben Gomez’s pulsing percussion drive the tune forward, though there appears to be no destination in sight; just an open, winding road in all its bliss.
It transitions seamlessly into the upbeat second song, “bad luck”, taking notes from fellow alt-pop creators such as Beach Fossils and Current Joys. The lyrics indicate a heart worn on its sleeve as Gomez sings matter-of-factly, “You are nothing, I am nothing”. No one is wallowing here, it seems to be a mere realization that comes with growing older. The chorus is certain to be an earworm, Tice’s bass acting as the heartbeat and Martin’s lush guitar plucking a catchy melody as Gomez warbles on, “It’s the way I feel”.
“your last cigarette” grabs inspiration from that of the year 2014 when black and white aesthetics ruled Tumblr (the original launchpad of the cool, indie, angst-ridden teen). It skillfully avoids feeling like a gimmick, the shoegaze-y sound tapping into a bittersweet feel before switching into the acoustic, down-to-earth penultimate tune “never goodbye”, a melancholic ballad with vocals dipped in thick, wet distortion. Still, it works, if only dragging a bit towards the denouement.
The project’s final track, “all my friends keep saying that i’m dead”, is the showstopper. It’s apparent here that WOAH isn’t afraid to make their influences clear; Beach House and Alex G come to mind as a yearning tune echoes from an acoustic guitar and soft, dreamy vocals float over the instrumental as if fog floating over the pines, while the lyricism maintains the sweetness of a ballad from another time as Gomez lilts, “Tell me, love, if this is a fairytale”.