The Owl Sounds release debut single 'Oscar' feat. Meryl Streek
- Richard Blowes
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Phil Wyer, guitarist for Meryl Streek, releases his debut single Oscar with his solo project The Owl Sounds
Track: Oscar
Band: The Owl Sounds
Released: March 25 2026
Have you ever wondered what a song, which opens like a reverb drenched sound track for a 60s spy film, morphs into a 90s alt rocker à la Smashing Pumpkins before delivering a furious rap from punk poet producer Meryl Streek, sounds like?
If no, then now's your chance - what are you waiting for? If yes, then you are probably Phil Wyer, the guitarist and bassist for Meryl Streek who has delivered that very track: Oscar, the debut from his solo project The Owl Sounds.
builds and builds with multiple guitar solos, brilliant drum breaks and a glorious shared vocal ... Oscar is a superbly punchy debut and a track for our chaotic times.
The track features a repeated opening couplet which sets up the push and pull of the feelings behind it: the simple bucolic pleasure of planting trees vs the anxiety of watching them grow too big to climb:
'If I had my way, I'd plant trees all day
Watch them grow to heights I'd never climb'
Whether literal or figurative, it delivers a dramatic tension which is resolved as the drums kick in and Streek's unmistakably irate intonation delivers the gut punch: the simple life likely doesn't exist anymore.
One clinical definition of anxiety is the intolerance of uncertainty. Maybe Oscar should come with a trigger warning as it certainly doesn't follow an expected song pattern of verse/chorus/middle eight/chorus. It just builds and builds with multiple guitar solos, brilliant drum breaks and a glorious shared vocal of 'no words, no words', before a final rap with the unforgettable line 'preaching to a choir with no ears in their heads'.
Oscar is a superbly punchy debut and a track for our chaotic times.
The Owl Sounds is the solo project of multi-instrumentalist and song writer, Phil Wyer. Originally from the UK, he is now based in Wexford, Ireland and is the guitar and bass player for punk producer Meryl Streek.
While living and playing with bands in London, Phil signed to Hollywood based publisher Secret Road Music Services and Red Parade records. He moved out to Los Angeles for 6 years as a session player and songwriter for several artists. He had numerous placements on US Network TV shows and advertising including a half time Superbowl commercial for Red Fin and the theme music for NBCs Winter Olympics coverage.
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