- Travis Salviejo
Obscura Hail in their prime with new single Doomer

When I first met Sean from Obscura Hail I had the instant feeling of meeting someone
much, much smarter and more creative than myself, even though it was at a Christmas in
July party/gig at a mutual friend’s house and the only music I really saw Sean play was as a
part of a gender bent rendition of baby it’s cold outside. But I still knew.
Here we are around four years later and I love to be proven right. Following a spectacular
2019 which saw the group release their EP Zero and make some incredible videos for the
singles, Obscura Hail show that they still have plenty in the tank doing, for my money; some of the most interesting song writing in Australia and their latest single Doomer proves it.
The song is a step in a slightly new direction for the group opening with some beautifully
distorted guitars and a full sound that has not often been utilised by the band in the past,
shifting away from some of the dreamy folk elements we are used to hearing from the
group. The song could easily sound like any other alt rock release but there is something
about the production and presentation of this one that makes it sit apart. I love Sean’s voice
as it cuts through the in your face bass line and the melody in this really shows off his
impressive range and the way it blends so well with Tam’s especially in the counter melody
section of the second verse is just so well done. The simple yet poignant chorus had me
humming along by my second listen and the lyrical work is spectacular throughout using
incredibly effective imagery as the lyrics present a tongue in cheek look at the mind of a
boomer. The subtle changes in feel like the drums at the end of the chorus really keep you
guessing and engaged with the song if you’re listening to everything that’s going on, while at the same time the song makes the perfect accompaniment to a mid-morning winter drive as the sun is hitting Telstra tower just right. The song is dancy, it’s clever, it’s well produced,
and it has an awesome video. Well worth a listen and a watch and a wonderful sign of things
to come.
Don’t feel guilty for not knowing just how bad it is,
And alone what little difference you make
From now on tally, riot rally
to show we understand that the world ain’t a ship to go down with
I love what Obscura Hail are doing, I love that they take elements of a ‘normal’ alt rock song and sprinkle in their own genius and that there is really nothing that I can think of that sounds anything like their stuff. I am very excited to hear Siren - the groups up and coming EP set to be released to the world on the 18th of September.
You can find Obscura Hail on Facebook / Instagram / Spotify / Bandcamp / Unearthed