The Loiner queer melodic hardcore quintet and NOIZZEFEST 26’ alumni Ómoia, delivers on a promise of charging through the rigid expectations of the alternative scene with their exquisite third EP – What Lies Beneath.
Guiding us through the complex and at times disorienting nature, of asserting agency over a traumatised mind and lived-body, Ómoia are a fierce force. The EP’s instrumental elements could easily be described as the spiritual love child of early Kittie and They Fear Us era Ithaca, the sonic equivalent to going 5 rounds with Amanda Nunes, as well as what we’d call being “cathartically traumatic”. Not one to scrimp on there descent into abrasive chaos; What Lies Beneath is a 17 minute cluster-fest of unadulterated fury, centred on the contemporary horror of LGBTQ+ rights being stripped from citizens. With social and political transphobia regrettably on the rise, Omoia’s staunch representation and allyship across this record is a swath of truth, expertly calling all humanists to arms, to battle against modern civilisations current apathetic free-fall. With how emotionally investing this latest release is, the most fascinating aspects of its Tracklist includes the likes of ‘Preying Men’ with its Holding Absence meets Hellraiser reminiscent style, as well as something we think is especially special.
“What Lies Beneath is powerful musical exploration”
The pinnacle of our overwhelming awe in relation to this record, comes in the form of ‘Maybe You Think You Can Save Me’. Originally transporting us to the heart of our imagined Emo Prom, dancing underneath the skull disco ball from Scooby Doo’s Spooky Island; the song has a soft and deeply sweet quality which slowly makes way for something enchantingly devastating beneath. It becomes glaringly clear, that the slow burns of this track feel more in tune with that of an experience of realisation in connection to C-PTSD. Sonically, turns into a trauma informed take on ‘You Can Count On Me’ by Trophy Eyes meets ‘Parachute’ by Hayley Williams, that is, if celestial melodies were exchanged for a scorchingly haunting production.
What Lies Beneath is powerful musical exploration and much like the opposite of the final tracks name will suggest, maybe this record could save not only our internal childlike queer selves, but those of us who are in desperate need of not feeling they’re fighting this world alone.
Bennie Osborne