Salt Lake City quartet oh!no?ok. are a self-dubbed ‘slacker rock quartet’ who stash cleverly conceived narratives into their tasty rock nuggets. Composed of high school friends Ryan Osborn, Cole Miller, Jackson Ludlow, and Nick Storey, the band is just over a year old but have clearly solidified their sugary pop-punk aesthetic.
Their latest single “Pretenders” – which The Noise is premiering today – is a snapshot of a troubled relationship, buttoned down with angular guitar work and wily drums. It’s a colorful, fuzzed-out affair with plenty of cool dynamics to keep listeners hooked for its three-minute run time.
“‘Pretenders’ is the unspoken conversation with every faded relationship,” Osborn explains. “Sometimes it’s easier just to pretend like you never even met. We lie to ourselves and discard them. More often than not, they do the exact same thing. Is it better to move on and forget or try to salvage what you got?”
On first listen of oh!no?ok.’s new track, Spoon, FIDLAR, Car Seat Headrest and PUP are a few comparable bands that roll off the tongue but deeper listens reveal more vulnerable synergisms at work pointing toward an incredibly thoughtful band with an adventurous spirit.
“Pretenders” is one of many singles the band has dropped in anticipation of their feature-length debut scheduled for late 2020. To check out the whimsical new song, see below. For more from oh!no?ok., head here.
