Towards the end of the first quarter of 2025, Bristolian indie rockers Oswald Slain released their debut EP ‘Kiss Me On The Mouth’, but this wasn’t the first time some of the band members had been in the spotlight. Guitarist vocalist Charlie Fitzgerald and drummer Rhii Williams had previously released material under the name Little Thief, and delivered one of 2021’s best albums. Realising they’d taken Little Thief’s garage rock sound as far as it could go, they teamed up with other musicians and branched out. Not that some of Oswald’s debut was massively far removed from the old sound; Fitz’s vocal retained a distinctive edge, and a couple of the songs definitely sounded like a logical extension of the Little Thief world. Nevertheless, ‘Kiss Me…’ was a strong first outing, and keeping the wheels greased, the band delivered an equally enjoyable follow up single ‘Firing Line’ barely a couple of months later.

Given the greatness of ‘Firing Line’, Fitz and the band appear in no real hurry to hit their audience with anything quite so immediate after hitting the play button on their full length ‘Bucky’. The first notes of ‘Cranberry Juice’ veer closer to a wavering psychedelia, drowning a waltzing melody that sounds like the ghost of an Americana past. Allowing time to adjust, the acoustic strums and keys adopting a mellotron tone start to have their own appeal, and its clear that the slow burning melody is a great fit for a forlorn vocal. Building gradually, the track eventually allows for a distorted lead guitar break to disrupt the strange sense of calm, bringing in a pinch of Little Thief’s more aggressive side, before slunking back into the original melody, at which point, starts to sound great. And indeed, despite first impressions, this number is great – the sound of Oswald Slain’s more mature sound at its peak. What it isn’t is your typical album opener; but fear not, the band have a couple of pleasingly punchy numbers up their collective sleeve, and they deliver those in an effective one-two hit, pulling the audience further into their world.

The first of the relative rockers, ‘Happiness Is Overrated’ takes distorted vocals and semi-distorted guitar lines, creating something that sounds absolutely huge. The melody has a sizeable 70s sneer, which in some ways sounds like an extension of Little Thief’s more complex works. Bringing a new slant, the track also incorporates some hefty bar room piano and a choir of vocals that owed more to bands like Noah & The Whale and a couple of deeper cuts from Blur’s ‘13’ album. For those not entirely sold on this, a fiery lead break and a stripped back verse featuring a moody vocal works brilliantly in drawing the ear even further into a layered sound. In time, it’s likely that old Little Thief fans will find a huge love for this number’s more bombastic qualities. The rousing chorus vocals, in particular, show massive promise, suggesting that, with a bigger musical canvas at his disposal, Fitz’s songwriting will likely grow accordingly. In the meantime, this is a track that definitely shows the still new Oswald Slain in a position of strength.

That’s immediately followed by the aforemented ‘Firing Line’, a swaggering track that takes Oswald Slain’s brand of indie rock further into the realms of radio friendly sounds. From the outset, the number’s hefty rhythm taps into something that sounds like a distant relation of ‘AM’ era Arctic Monkeys, but the mix of beats and bright sounding guitar lines offers something a little more distinctive. Once Charlie starts to sing, his distorted voice gives extant fans something that feels immediately familiar, and applying that to a huge chorus, Oswald Slain sound like an indie rock band with far more confidence than before. Bringing back the introductory melody as a major hook gives a pleasing contrast with the more bombastic chorus elements, and a few plays ensures the main musical hooks really stick.

Almost equally as strong, the slower and rather sultry ‘Golden Years’ provides a great vehicle for an echoing vocal. Although it seems, at first, as if the lolloping melody will provide the track’s strongest hook – it’s a great example of how something so simple can also be really effective – the verse’s main riff is quickly outshone by a chorus with a jubilant choir of vocals, and that, in turn, is outshone by some rousing lead guitar work filling an all too brief instrumental break. The rhythm guitar tones are pleasingly crisp here, and the howling leads, occasionally sounding like something on loan from The Black Keys, straddle a fine line between anger and sadness. There are massive waves of 70s nostagia washing over the whole performance, making it more than clear why Little Thief had to break free of their limitations, and even from first listen, its retro charms are more than clear. Stoking up the organ sounds, ‘Terrible Neighbour’ starts life sounding like another solid 60s throwback, before twisting itself into an indie-pop-rock hybrid with verses that sound like another homage to late period Blur. The great intro melody is then put to excellent use to underscore a huge chorus where a familiar sounding melody invites the listener to sing along. It doesn’t quite summon the same power as ‘Happiness Is Overrated’, but it definitely has the makings of a future live favourite.

Released as a single ahead of the album, ‘Have You Got What You Came Here For?’ is a little tougher around the edges, prioritising some older sounding garage rock influences, and it has a brilliant groove. The way the organ parts bleed into the fuzzy basslines takes the old Little Thief sound and makes it sound even bigger, whilst Fitz delivers a moody vocal to suit. The arrival of a choppy guitar brings an unexpected mod-ish slant in a couple of places, but the bass groove really steals the show here. Sounding like something tailor made for the live set, it has a genuine confidence and shows how the band can really rock out. With that said, it works fantastically as a digital single, but heard in tandem with more mature sounding tunes, it doesn’t fit the album very comfortably, and this becomes even more obvious when the title cut arrives with a stripped back voice and guitar intro. Like ‘Golden Years’ it’s a track that’s brilliantly arranged, and builds nicely, adding a few indie rock guitars for the first chorus and beyond, eventually reaching a peak where harmony vocals and fuzz guitar make Oswald Slain sound like a weird hybrid of Teenage Fanclub, ‘Terror Twilight’ era Pavement and Little Thief reaching for the heavens. At over five minutes for something that could’ve been condensed into three, it feels a little long if not approached in the right mood, but its musical ingredients and rousing climax are superb. In closing, the semi-acousic ‘Until The Next Time’ offers an underwhelming finish, but that’s likely deliberate. Fitz doesn’t quite have the voice to stand exposed, but bell-like percussion, echoing harmonies and a very 60s melody do some welcome heavy lifting to make a Thrills-esque melody feel like the perfect place to bow out.

Although ‘Bucky’ is pitched as a long player, it’s eight songs and thirty three minutes provides a fairly short listen, akin to older releases from the early 60s. In a world of instant gratfication supplied by streaming services and short attention spans, though, opting for relative brevity is a wise move. There’s no obvious filler here; everything falls in line with the best of the EP tracks, with tighter songwriting and a sometimes fuller sound giving the feeling of a band pushing forward. If you’re already familiar with Oswald Slain, you’ll certainly want to add this to your music collection. If you’ve yet to have the pleasure, dive in here – although this album isn’t perfect, it’s definitely the work of an act heading for bigger things.

September 2025