PREVIEWS
MUSIC
OH WONDER @ NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ UNION
Words: Michael O’Neill Fresh from announcing their upcoming fifth LP, 22 Make (a companion piece to 2021’s surprise release 22 Break), the London-based alt. pop
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duo Oh Wonder are setting off on a worldwide jaunt, taking in Newcastle University Students’ Union on Sunday 17th April. Whilst 22 Break chronicled a turbulent period of upheaval and development for Josephine Vander Gucht and Anthony West (that particular collection of songs dealt with the strain the pandemic brought to the duo’s personal relationship), they consider 22 Make to be the inverse; having worked through their tensions, the couple married and set to create a new body of work that they consider to be “full of love and life-affirming songs that reflect on fate, gratitude and being there for someone.”
It’s an MO perfectly encapsulated in the album’s euphoric, heart-on-sleeve lead single Magnificent, which offers a more direct, assertive and optimistic perspective to the anxious, exploratory mode of 22 Break, and is more representative of the euphoric alt. pop that has won them fans in the likes of Billie Eilish and seen them collaborate with the likes of Lil Uzi Vert. Oh Wonder play Newcastle University Students’ Union on Sunday 17th April. www.ohwondermusic.com
