New Music: Odd Beholder – Drive

Few songs get under my skin the way that Drive, the new single from Odd Beholder, does, and I’m not fully sure how to process that.

That’s largely because the lyrics hit on themes that many of us experience; for me it was that need to be someone else, somewhere else; that gives the song so much emotional power. In my past, that desire that was soundtracked by indie music and post-punk.

Odd Beholder, aka Swiss musician, producer and activist Daniela Weinmann, writes about things we will readily recognise: she mentions “small towns and teenage struggles, of love and loss, of growing up and coming to terms with the past,” as themes that inhabit Drive, and her new album, Honest Work.

The track plays with different meanings of the word, which I won’t spoil for you other than to say it does have a role in the lyrics and melody and, most of all, the unceasing forward motion of the dream pop fused arrangement.

Weinmann’s vocals are like that of a wounded angel, pure with an undertow of sadness to them, brushing against the jangle of the lead guitar, searching for answers and giving absolution and reassurance. Even if you are happy with your like now, it’s OK to remember when you were sad, searching for your true self, because it helps you live fully where you are today.

Honest Work was released on the 22nd of May via Sinnbus and is available in digital and vinyl formats on Bandcamp. Odd Beholder hits the road in May and September in support of the album, with a series of dates in Germany; head to Facebook, TikTok, or Instagram for venue details.

Header photo by Ronja Burkard