Oliver James’s EP The Hardest Part is a beautiful synergy of folk, country, and indie pop/rock, a constant and fluid interplay between the genres and the musician’s emotions rather than singular expressions of each. More importantly, while the songs feature some of these genres’ signature traits, they use them as tools to create a unique sound and bring out an honest emotion rather than as boxes that just need to be ticked in order to rehash old themes that have proven to be safe bets.
The four songs in The Hardest Part have beautiful swelling sections of brass and string orchestras, layers of jangling guitars, pedal steel guitar melodies that carry the whiff of nostalgia the way only this gorgeous sound effect can; and of course, James’s haunting and otherworldly voice that’s slightly reminiscent of Vile Vallo’s from HIM and conjures up a lonesome and perhaps eerie creature whose pain pours out in the most beautiful forms.
The Hardest Part is definitely an album, brimming with subtle emotions, that would probably appeal to the folk and indie lovers in particular, but also to people with a taste for beautiful guitar melodies that come in all kinds of styles and forms and in the company of authentic and unique singing.
