Richard Blowes
Sep 8, 20232 min
Updated: Sep 22, 2023
Artwork for Swallow My Love by Michael Nolan
Following on from his electrifying 2022 EP End Me (... a dark outlet of emotive vigour partnered with an intentional grit that uniquely materialises their direction) Irish midlands producer OWLS is back with more dark electronica in new single Swallow My Love.
A song of love, its brutality and the corruptive nature of hearts, OWLS dives into the realms of obsession, desire and the inevitable subsequent downfall. It's as dark as a Nick Cave murder ballad except set to the quantised oscillations of chest pounding synths.
This is not for the faint hearted, this does not hold a happy ending, this will chew you up and spit you out.
You be the moth; I’ll be the fire
Fill you with sickness and deepest desires
You be the junkie; I’ll be your drug.
Sniff me, inject me and swallow my love.
As OWLS says: "This is not for the faint hearted, this does not hold a happy ending, this will chew you up and spit you out."
Opening up with a classic trance sound, it phases into a pulsing bass before the 707 arrives to knock you into next week. Vicious synth stabs keep coming as OWLS builds his reputation as a darkwave specialist and provides another fine example of his ability to weld the worlds of techno and punk together.
The official video of the track was shot between Counties Longford and Roscommon and features scenes of brutalism, gothic architecture, and a trip to the shop for some milk by the local village goth.
You can catch OWLS live in the Pawn Shop, Dame St., Dublin Sat 16th September (free entry)
OWLS is an electronic producer from Longford, Ireland
He fosters a brood of darkened songs, nestled in between eskers, in amongst the bogs and drumlins. Songs for the night, for the moon and its shadows.
Largely inspired by the sounds of postpunk, techno, ebm and synthwave, dark tunes you can dance to is the mantra OWLS stands by. A nod to the goths is prevalent. The sentiment of love and its brutality runs throughout dynamic vocals and a focus on abrasive textures is to the fore. This is a driving, mesmerising haunt. A sound of its own, an immediately recognizable silhouette in the nightscape. This is OWLS.
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