Okay Champ’s second single is hypnotising and nightmarish.

 

“The lyrics were born out of a nightmare I had.”

That’s the way that lead vocallist of Okay Champ, John Edgar, describes the formation of William Tell, the band’s latest single. We lead on this, because it’s a perfect description of what to expect from the single. Sounding like Echo & The Bunnymen played at half speed, the single is a sinister, atmospheric soundscape where vocal repetitions echo out into a doom-laden horizon of fuzzy guitars.

In many ways, the single musically and vocally feels so closely entwined to its nightmare origins that it becomes almost an anti-pop song. The guitar outro at about 3:30 sounds like tortured screams that continue until the song fades, while everything else about the single is a bruising, muscular listen.

It’s artistic in its handling of pure dissonance, somehow turning raw and visceral sounds into something hypnotic and mesmerising. Whether you like it or not, you’ll enjoy the five minutes of primal emotion.