Oliver Jordan – Pedestal (2022)
Alive but dead, existent but non-existent, singer-songwriter Oliver Jordan is an enigma. Dealing with a mental illness throughout his life, Jordan’s descent into depression lead to a failed suicide attempt in his recording studio and placement in a mental institution where he reportedly died in a freak accident choking on false teeth that a fellow patient hid in his banana pudding. So, is this an escape from the mental institution to leave the US and busk around Europe? Probably not, although no evidence has been found to substantiate the claim. This begs the question, is Jordan existing on another plain of being or is he right there in the recording studio? What I do know is that the latest addition to his discography is the single ‘Pedestal’.
In an interview with Lost In The Manor, Oliver Jordan explains that he uses “musical instruments as tools to create what’s already in my mind…it’s all subconscious and intuitive…” Following his single ‘We Hate The Light’, this US-based multi-instrumentalist lets his creative juices flow in ‘Pedestal’. Touching on the idea of allowing people to rise on a pedestal, just to see themselves fall in a dramatic way, the single is “all about suffering and bringing back mystique into today’s computerised, quantised, perfectionated, and therefore often sterile, soulless music that all sounds the same.”
As with his previous work, ‘Pedestal’ is an eclectic combination of post-punk, alternative rock and grunge. Influenced by the likes of REM and Nirvana, the single has an obscure, disjointed sound expressing Jordan’s “all over the place” approach to music. Interestingly enough, the distorted guitars and pounding drums have prominence in the melody but also come together in an experimental, surreal and almost transcendental way with an almost palpable grittiness.
Sentimental, profound and sincere in a way, Oliver Jordan blows our minds with his intriguing single ‘Pedestal’.
For more from Oliver Jordan check out his Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
