Who the hell are Oldtown and how do we join the riff club? We came across Oldtown because they did that social media thing that’s not supposed to work: You like peoples’ posts on Instagram and they then look at your profile/stalk you/follow you back. Well they liked some Depth stuff, so I stalked, and I liked what I found, and here we are.
In the process of stalking, I heard “The Swindler”; a track that frankly BANGS, and I’m not really a ‘bangs’ kind of girl. I learned that while newcomers as a band, the band members of Oldtown are not necessarily new to the world of music, and come bringing expertise from other projects, such as The Name of a Ghost. Oldtown features Matthew Muscari (vocals), Matt Scott (guitar & vocals), Rich Brown (bass & vocals), and Simon Nicholls (drums).
Though the band refer to veterans of the music world like Metallica and Stevie Ray Vaughn as artists they’re into, Oldtown aren’t making musty or tired rock. If “The Swindler” is anything to go by, the band are swooping in and breathing something new into timeless rock, and crafting impressive music that’s fresh to the ears, yet also carries some strong familiarity.
“Give me oblivion, give me soul,
What lies beyond tonight, I don’t wanna know.”
In “The Swindler”, never-boring riffs compete with chaotic hecticness of vocals. We’re mentally (and visually with the music video created by Nick Hargans) taken into a bar/party scene, where gang vocals, staggering footing, and aiming to get plastered feels assumed. This is until we’re flying high with Oldtown, having hit upon ‘the glitch to life so the party never ends’.
While you could see the track as something of a drinking anthem, there’s a self-destructive darkness here, making for weary intensity in vocals seeming to be thrown around by the guitar solidness. Enthralling throughout, “The Swindler” hits home courtesy of a threatening drum build up and a last gasp of a chorus.
Gotta love new music when it’s this good, as well as getting in early to a new band and being ready for whatever else they have to share. Check out “The Swindler” via the music video below, and stalk the band on Facebook or Instagram.
