Stress, anxiety, worry. We all face it. Society has become so saturated with media and connection that the constant wiring of information straight into our neural pathways creates a life of such uncertainty and taxation that it becomes increasingly difficult to fall asleep again. Often one’s life becomes an ode to the escape, be it through substance, relationship or experience. It’s this demented balancing act of working enough to fuel one’s escapism and escaping enough to retain the sanity to work. A mind could use some rest.
Malaysian artist O V X X nestles their latest project, you’re overthinking it, right into this tension. Both as a representation of the mindscape we feel and the rest we deserve. Blending acoustic sounds, hip hop beats, often obscured vocal features, and some very… unique samples, O V X X gets to the heart of modern humanity through melody on “you’re overthinking it”.
Alright, I can fill this article with enough flowery language to make a florist blush, but you as a reader have to understand something. O V X X samples the Roblox death sound on this album… and it’s done well. This example may seem silly but the whole project has this tongue in cheek air about it. Other samples include the infamous “I love you, and I miss you, hoooo…” and song titles like “uwu uwu uwu” really make you second guess the title as a more literal interpretation of the work at hand than some sort of concept.
That being said, songs like “we’re still forgetting each other,” “those moshi monster glasses don’t fit me anymore (feat. Yungmaple),” and “uwu uwu uwu” are some really lush pieces of instrumental hip hop, with a serious slant towards the recent Nujabes/J Dilla-inspired lofi style. Even in a “genre” that is absolutely flooded with same-y sounding tracks, O V X X manages to use that humorous aspect and some really nice instrumentation to stand out from the crowd. Nothing about the music on the project seems overbearing, even if it is meant to gauge a reaction. Instrumentals fade in an out with a peaceful, rainy, haze. None of the aforementioned samples are distracting, but instead seem surprisingly natural in midst on the context.
This idea of fading and hazy music also translates into the various vocally led tracks on the project. Featuring the talents of Alex Lowe-Lauri, Still Parade and shilo dynasty (the latter two of which come by way of samples), vocals on the project are often pitch shifted and drowned in the other elements of the production. While this may sound strange on paper, it helps to display the human voice as its own instrument. Among the vocally led tracks, “feed you doritos” (feat. Alex Lowe-Lauri) is the standout. Forgoing playing with the sound of the vocals, the track is the most straightforward on the project in a good way. Also it samples Merchant Ships’ song Sleep Patterns, which gives it some serious emo cred. As if to make this point even more clear, the album ends with a delightfully lofi Elvis Depressedly cover.
Something really interesting about this album is the amount of subtle diversity within it. Remaining two tracks “why do I exist lol” and “sleepy dogger (feat. Toploz_jr)” darken the mood musically. The latter track especially, with it’s clipping, pulsing beats and synths, stands out among the rest of the tracks and really brings the previously noted idea of tension to a head. Hearing a variety of sounds from any artist can be off-putting at times, but the mood of the project stays intact through it all.
In the end, maybe the tension and our worries reside mostly within our own heads. With a simultaneous cheekiness and dire-ness, O V X X manages to illustrate the modern human condition through song, and does it well. Fade away or double down, we’re all just trying to find someplace to be in this world. But in the end, the title is probably true, and you’re overthinking it.