There’s no glamour in self-destruction on Luke O’Hanlon’s single, Alcohol and Sodium. The primary reduce from his forthcoming album, The River Solely Flows One Means, carries the load of each remorse that lingers lengthy after the bottle’s empty and the neon lights have misplaced their heat. O’Hanlon’s lyricism, steeped in stark poetry and weary knowledge, doesn’t romanticise the tough edges—it lays them naked, exposing the loneliness in unhealthy choices and the inevitability of time slipping via cracked fingers.
Sonically, O’Hanlon leans into the mesmerising guitar work of Kurt Vile whereas pulling from Modest Mouse’s uncooked alt-country grit. When the composition fractures into storage rock territory, Strokes-esque vocals carve their approach via the stripped-back instrumentation, guaranteeing each line lands like an unfiltered confession moderately than a efficiency.
There’s a whisper of Tom Waits’ barstool storytelling and Richard Thompson’s slicing readability within the supply, however O’Hanlon’s voice is completely genuine—ragged but resolute, with a cynicism that by no means topples into defeat.
Slightly than framing hedonism as revolt or a obligatory ceremony of passage, Alcohol and Sodium presents a unique perspective—one which doesn’t ask for sympathy or redemption, simply recognition. If that is simply the primary glimpse into The River Solely Flows One Means, the complete launch in April 2025 is about to be an unflinching, razor-sharp reflection on survival itself.
Alcohol and Sodium is now out there to stream on SoundCloud.
Evaluate by Amelia Vandergast