Oliver Hazard – Illinois

Americana-folk trio Oliver Hazard release ‘Illinois’, the third single off their upcoming album, ’34 N. River’.

The Ohio-based band, made up of Mike, Griff and Dev, recently re-connected when Mike returned from his job as an instructor for Outward Bound California, and revisited his hometown of Waterville.

The three friends experimented with making music together and quickly found a formula that worked, writing and recording an album in just three weeks.

The band’s sound is a powerfully raw hybrid of foot-stomping folk and beautifully blended three-part Americana harmonies. Their simple sound and honest lyrics are a refreshing reminder of how human music can be. A story, a guitar and a kick drum.

‘Illinois’ adds another chapter to Oliver Hazard’s musical narrative, a hauntingly beautiful ode to hindsight.

Mike said:

“This song is loosely based on a weekend that we had spent together in Chicago, we left the state with less than we came with. The song was written about an emotional addiction, a lost love that can begin to take over your everyday life. No matter where you look, that person is embodied and at the end of the day, all you’re left with is a cigarette and them on your mind.”

The tale is set to an acoustic soundtrack of a treading drum beat, skipping guitar and xylophone cameo, giving it a ‘round the campfire’ feel. Every ping and strum of a guitar string can be heard as if it were feet away from you, giving the song an intimacy that many artists dream of achieving.

Oliver Hazard are set to release their debut album, ’34 N. River’, on June 15. They have also got a number of tour dates planned across May and June, including the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival and Mountain Jam Festival.

Find out more about Oliver Hazard online on their official website, Twitter, Facebook, and SoundCloud. You can stream and download their music from iTunes and Spotify.

Oliver Hazard - Illinois (Official Audio)

About the author

There’s a lot of music out there - good music. At Essentially Pop our remit is that we cover music that deserves to be heard, with a particular focus on independent artists. That doesn't mean we won't cover your old favourites - rather we hope to give you some new favourites as well.

We no longer accept unpaid PR agency work. We believe the creative arts have value, and this includes writing. As always, we will write about artists who contact us - or who we contact - for free - but we can no longer work free of charge for PR agencies. We work hard, we put in a lot of hours writing, and we ask that you respect that. Contact us for our very reasonable rates.

Follow us on: Twitter, Google+, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, Myspace, Facebook, Spotify, Youtube. Drop us an email on hello@essesntiallypop.com

Leave a Reply