New Music: Softbytes – When Its Ov4

Chris Schwan’s Softbytes project just dropped their Call Me When You Mean It EP, and we really fell for When Its Ov4.

St Louis, Missouri, based Schwan is also a DJ in the house, trance, and phonk genres, and is the vocalist for rock outfit Call in Artillery, none of which prepares you for the track.

On first impressions, it has a happy hardcore feel to it, but the rich tones of the production and the ballad-style ambience of the melody certainly shift it from that rave-fuelled club aesthetic.

If anything, the track has an 80s synthpop energy, but again, the nature of the lyrics and the pacing of the vocal delivery have a noticeable pop-punk edge to them. Electronic pop coming from a very singular direction; it might not find an easy home in any one genre, but there’s no doubting that it’s easy to lose yourself in.

Call Me When You Mean It can be streamed on all big music services, including Bandcamp and Spotify. Hit up Softbytes on Instagram for more listening and download options.