O. Wake - Head in the Cloud

“Someone saw me, for a second, noticed me,” sings Ofer Shouval, mastermind of O. Wake, in his band’s new single “Head in the Cloud.” It is impossible, however, to forget Ofer’s vocals just after a second. When I first listened to an O. Wake song a year or so ago, the lyrics, the sound, but most importantly, the vocals instantly turned me into a fan with their earnest groundedness and instant recognizability. With “Head in the Cloud,” O. Wake tap more into the indie-rock and pop field with jangly guitars and driving beats, yet the lyrics are still brimming with depth and meaning as we came to love from “Odysseus” or “Let’s Get All Pessimistic.

These three songs, together with “Riper than Ripe,” can be enjoyed on O. Wake’s self-released EP Head in the Cloud, out now. This is intelligent art-pop at its finest! Asked about the “Head in the Cloud,” Ofer says:

“‘Head in the Cloud’ is about modern life. The name refers to our greater integration into and the increasing amount of time we spend in the virtual world as opposed to the real world, and the consequences of that. We spend more time in the world of our phones, and we miss the things going on around us. Life, things, they just kind of pass us by.”

He adds further:

“But it’s not just about us, it’s not saying that it’s our fault for being more and more dependent on our phones and less able to see the world around us. The fault lies with the ideology that promotes this cycle. The track is a critique, sardonic at points, of the way we’re encouraged to feel “connected” but in being connected, we lose our space to experience the real world. I’m being very sarcastic, especially in the third verse.”

If you’re in New York City on March 10th, make sure to see Ofer Shouval with his full band when O. Wake play Mercury Lounge at 8 PM as part of The New Colossus Festival.

Listen to “Head In The Cloud,” our Song Pick of the Day:

Connect with O. Wake and add “Head In The Cloud” to your playlist as we add it to our #glamglarepick playlist on Spotify and AppleMusic:

Photo credit: Will Oliver