Wexford band share single from their new and upcoming album

Building on the folk-rock essence of their debut, The Ocelots are excited to soon release their highly anticipated second album, Everything, When Said Slowly, set for release 7^th February…

For their third single, The Ocelots brothers present a definitive glimpse of their indie-rock influence, as ‘Australia’ brings the sonic shapes of The Shins and early Kings of Leon into centre focus, while framing the picture with a more personal theme of Irish migration.

“We tried to capture that feeling of leaving and dealing with the self-adjustment involved. A certain apathy you grow to those you love around you when you know all you want to do is move. In our pursuit of writing something honest and cathartic, we created something many people can relate to.”

The twins, having toured extensively around regional Australia and Tasmania, relate back to the number of people they met living there in search of work. ‘Australia’ highlights their
reflections of their touring years as a folk duo.

“The song was the sum of scrapped and recycled parts, feelings and concepts. My first rule was to write something uncomfortably honest no matter what, regardless of whether it’s relatable. I’m an anxious sleeper, and sometimes I wake up dishevelled and the haziness doesn’t clear till later in the afternoon. I started documenting that experience, dropping in biographical clues into my songs.”

Recorded at Orphan Recording Studios in their hometown Wexford, created with
decade-long collaborators Cillian Byrne, Lorcan Byrne & Conor Cunningham, what feels like a song about leaving is inevitably a homecoming to a familiar soundscape.

ABOUT THE OCELOTS

The Ocelots are twin brothers Ashley and Brandon Watson from Wexford, now residing in Leipzig, Germany. Building on the folk-rock essence of their debut, the duo are excited to announce the release of their highly anticipated second album, Everything, When Said Slowly, set for release 7^th February 2025.

This album unveils a richer, more expansive sound, masterfully produced by long-time collaborators Cillian and Lorcan Byrne (Ailbhe Reddy, Susan O’Neill). The narrative woven throughout the album explores themes of Irish migration, the perception of time, love, and the simple joys of cycling.

“The title ‘Everything, When Said Slowly’ is a response from an old Irish man’s perspective on people leaving our hometown of Wexford over the years past. He said it was a very long time since they left, but not much time if you said it fast. I found it wonderful and profound, but also deeply moving and fitting for the album’s sentiment. How time flies or drags depending on what you’re experiencing, especially when it’s time in a place you said goodbye to.”

Blood harmonies are the centre of The Ocelots’ sound – imperfections of a voice breaking or a tempo shifting. Recorded live in Orphan Recording Studios, by Gavin Glass (Lisa Hannigan, BellX1, David Keenan, John Grant, Villagers), the band’s performances help form a driven, energetic scrapbook, coloured by flutes, synths, harmonica and harmonium. The twin brothers blend absurdity and sincerity in an array of literature-inspired musings. Open tunings and clawhammer banjo bring country-folk contemplation, but the imagery is very much urban, living outside of the romanticised glaze of wood cabins and cottage-core nostalgia.

“Apart from recording the majority of the album in an intense window of three days, we had a long overdubbing phase back in Leipzig. We were able to be more creative with the final touches. I worked in a bookstore and inside we had this beautiful noisy harmonium. I had a lot of fun with that, and I was in love with the sound. Brandon worked day after day on lead guitar parts, harmonica parts and arrangements for cello lines or extra harmonies. It took way longer than it should have, but it was worth it”.

Stream ‘Australia’ – Out Now: https://slinky.to/Australia