Poison Oak deliver ‘Therapy’ easygoing indie rock with heavy undertones.
Poison Oak – ‘Therapy’
‘Wash me down, pick me up for my therapy’ opens ‘Therapy’ by Poison Oak. I appreciated the casual reference to therapy – despite its increasing popularity and mainstream appeal, there are many that would still attach a large stigma to talking about it. Yet this track isn’t a sunny ode to self-help, but rather a representation of the mental circles we can push ourselves round in, even when we are trying to change.
Poison Oak are a four-piece indie rock band hailing from North Queensland. They’ve been steadily releasing over the past few years, and gained nods in magazines and various editorial playlists.
‘Therapy’ is a laid-back indie rock tune which floats along easily, despite some of the heavy subject matter.
The raw lyrics depict the cycle of self-loathing and self-consciousness, imagining someone ‘taking notes of everything that seems to be wrong with me’. There’s blame for ‘spending all this time wasting in this town’, there’s self-medication in ‘take another sip and you’ll be fine’, but the ultimate cry, repeated and chanted, is one big ‘I don’t know’. And sometimes, that’s just life. But the heavy lyrics are lightened by the effortless melodies and assured, pulled-back, everyman vocal delivery.
The production is packed with strong melodic guitar lines, and the band are clearly a tight outfit that knows how to play together well. With hooky riffs, guitars that go from mellow to chugging, and solid bass and beats to pull it all together, it instantly pulls you into a groove, and chucks in some nice solos too but never outstays its welcome. Fans of bands like Weezer will find plenty to enjoy here.
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Words Eden Tredwell
