TCCEP was recorded over the course of about ten million hours in Arabi, LA  at the band’s studio June’s Beehive, and it sounds like it. Mastered by Nashville-based producer Piper Payne (Madame Ghandi, Ray Cooper), the EP boasts five original songs – hell, compositions, really –  in a diverse array of styles, all co-written by Hrabar and Korosec, the latter of whom attended high school in the UK. Perhaps this is why the whole EP is so deliciously English, especially opening track “And Now Just Be,” which B-side Guys called a “a meticulously crafted piece of indie rock that blends progressive elements with Brit-pop sensibilities.” This dark and restless number was penned by Korosec during Covid lockdown after observing some “pond creatures” (his words) on a walk and having an epiphany concerning the Zen-like nature of their existence. As with most OV songs, a hastily made demo was handed over to the sonic architect Hrabar, who wrestled it into something approaching perfection. 

Track two, “Ride,” lets the sunshine in with poppy keyboards and muted guitar riffs that evoke the Cars. A musical elegy to Hrabar’s dearly departed (and eponymous) dog, “Ride” is ironically the most upbeat song on the EP, one that champions life in the face of death. It’s also one of the catchiest, for better or for worse.

The first single from TCCEP is track three, “Records Back,” a short and sweet number released last summer. Obscure Sound called it a “stellar production” that “excels in its melding of vintage synths, glistening guitar twangs, and emergent horn arrangements.” The penultimate track, “Love Is Not,” is a meditation on love and lust grounded by soaring guitars that pay homage to Doug Martsch, while album closer “Tangerine Sofa,” written about Korosec’s father’s struggles with alcoholism, is drenched in layers and layers of ghostly keys and backward guitars that reward repeated listening. 

Korosec, who went to school for film, brings a cinematic flair to his songwriting; these songs warp and evolve in unexpected ways that will surely delight the attentive ear. This is due in no small part to the remarkable studio wizardry of Hrabar, whose approach is best described as “throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks.” The band’s influences (REM, Smashing Pumpkins, Supergrass, Guided By Voices, Radiohead, and Bowie) aren’t worn on the sleeve, exactly, but up it, to be deployed as needed. “Our goal is to make music on our own terms,” Korosec says. “That’s artistic integrity, right?” OV has achieved this modest goal in TCCEP, which will be released on vinyl later this year. Consider it another star in the small but brilliant fleur de lis-shaped constellation of the New Orleans underground indie music scene, one that, in retrospect, was sorely needed, Cricket, anyone?