O/PUS – Out At Sea, The Water Is Deep (1:12 Records) (13th Floor Album Review)
O/PUS were a discovery when Andew Wilson (DIE! DIE! DIE!) debuted his solo act (AW) Tamaki Makaurau venue Cupid Bar back in 2024, there was joy to behold as O/PUS opened the evening up.
A four piece with tentacles interlaced across the Aotearoa lo-fi scene, members: Liz Mathews (Drums/Vocals), Beth Dawson (Guitar/Vocals) Jade Farley (Violin/Keyboard/Guitar/Vocals) and Stefan Neville Bass/Vocals). The four used an 8 track tape, as well as computer to try and capture the group’s soundscapes on Out At Sea, The Water Is Deep, their debut release.
Nominal track Ancient Ancient was teased out just before Kirihimete last year, but is joined now by nine other compositions. Noticeably land and sea feature in the song titles, as does references to octopi, there is a narrative there I suspect.
Live, O/PUS coalesce multiple musical machinations: Punk, Folk and Lo-Fi into an inviting cloak of noise. Capturing this taonga on tape for Out At Sea, The Water Is Deep would’ve been challenging no doubt, had not the steady hand of Stefan Neville been in play, much mana must be given to his efforts.
The ten songs in length cover 40 minutes, however there is no time equity: Scaly Wiggler lasts just 40 seconds, Black Ink comes in under two minutes, while Taken gobbles up a whopping six-plus minutes (though it is the magnificently penultimate composition on the album).
This incongruity, alongside all four members taking on vocal duties, and the multi-instrumental skills of Farley has fostered a tremendously interesting and exciting lo-fi body of work by O/PUS. It’s one for those enamoured by post-punk noise, reminiscent of Xpressway, early Mekons and bands the members of O/PUS also inhabit.
Simon Coffey
Out At Sea, The Water Is Deep is out now on 1:12 Records\
