California-based genre-benders O.A.T.S. are back with a new single, "Strings of Ithaca," an emotionally poignant, orchestral piano-and-vocal track that reverberates throughout time. While the narrative is deeply rooted in Greek mythology, this track is draped in a layer of noir that marks a classic story of love, betrayal, and redemption. This refreshingly human experience is mystifyingly rendered in folk-pop's pastoral tones and pop-rock's bombastic posturing.
O.A.T.S. is a name that the band chose as its abbreviation, inspired by Odysseus and the Sirens. These influences have always been central to O.A.T.S.'s identity, and they've never been more apparent in "Strings of Ithaca." The opening piano note alone is enough to immediately flatten you, transporting you onto an emotional plain simultaneously close and far away. O.A.T.S. leans on their singer-songwriter and "adult contemporary" roots with this track, relying on sparse piano chords infused with two-quarters of a lifetime's worth of diary pages. The rollicking rock tones aren't far away. There's an ember's worth of them just under the piano.
The vocals are pure and stripped bare, cushioned by lost harmonies that feel oddly fantastical, calling your soul like the Sirens' melodies may once have done. Tension builds throughout the vocal delivery, a raw, unmasked openness that wraps around you and refuses to relinquish. When the chorus comes, it grows, swelling like waves on the shore. The lyrics delve into an ancient story of fate, tragedy, and eternal love. However, despite what feels like one million years before present-day events, the song hits on the feeling of love pulling at the seams.
The emotions of "Strings of Ithaca" are universal, even if you don't know what to think about Ithaca. O.A.T.S. proves once more that they can make an orchestral beauty with depth and relevance that stretches beyond the last chorus. If you need songwriting with a spirit, a heart, and intensity, "Strings of Ithaca" might be it.