WOAH Amplifies Slacker Dream Pop on "Valleys"

WOAH, courtesy of the artist

By Emily Herbein

RIYL: Patternist, The Cure, Briston Maroney.

I’m really excited to talk about this band. I found WOAH a few weeks ago when they submitted to one of my other projects, and I’ve been listening to this track nonstop ever since. This four-piece dream pop boy band isn’t from Philly, but I’m making an exception and putting them in front of you here. (You know that any exceptions that I make to my one rule are pretty important recommendations. I woulnd’t steer you wrong). They’re from Charlotte, North Carolina, and their sound rests somewhere between delicate and ethereal pop and soft indie rock. The hazy production gives it that perfect indie movie soundtrack quality, but the rougher acoustic takes that they have on Spotify are undeniably DIY. When a band hooks me from the jump with their recorded work and then also has a fantastic organic sound, there’s no turning back.

Their most recent track, “Valleys,” dropped today and it just feels really right to come out during this transitional period between winter and spring. It’s gentle enough that it feels comfortable on days when it’s dark outside — like right now, I’m writing this from my bed and it’s cold and raining out my window, but this song feels warm and secure. But there’s also a layer of burgeoning urgency underneath the vocal track that hints at the forthcoming spring, longer days, and the promise of something better than what we have right now. The song starts with the gentlest electric guitar picking pattern and an understated synthetic drum beat. I think this one’s a slow burn, with layers of production building one after the other with a feeling of loose intentionality. That’s like the whole tone of this band’s discography — loose intentionality is a cool way to put it. While they’re incredibly laidback and delve into that almost-slack rock space, their musicality is still tight. This song is like an amalgam of super early The 1975 circa “The Go,” Patternist’s “Feature’s Dead, Angela,” and The Cure’s “Friday I’m In Love.” All things that I love. All things that I think you’ll love.

This is a really exciting new find for me, and I hope you feel the same way about WOAH. It’s not very often that I stumble across artists who really get to me like this, but I’ve been lucky enough this year that I’ve crossed paths with a couple. (Orson Wilds, looking right at you). I’ll keep you posted on all things WOAH as they come, and in the meantime, you can stream “Valleys” below.