A haunting mix of tender, angsty indie rock and atmospheric dream pop, anxioushum’s “wore” and Molly O’Malley’s “hollow” fill the air with tension and cathartic release.
Stream: ‘split’ – anxioushum x Molly O’Malley
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The only thing better than one raw, intimate upheaval is two raw, intimate upheavals – and that’s exactly what Long Island’s anxioushum and Cleveland’s Molly O’Malley have delivered on their new split single, split. A haunting mix of tender, angsty indie rock and atmospheric dream pop, anxioushum’s “wore” and Molly O’Malley’s “hollow” fill the air with tension and cathartic release.
i don’t want to be
the b plot in your life
i wanna mean more
does that make me selfish?
oh god i hope not
do those desires make me ugly?
does that make my soul hollow?
– “hollow,” Molly O’Malley
Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering anxioushum and Molly O’Malley’s split, out February 18th, 2021. Consisting of anxioushum’s new song “wore” and Molly O’Malley’s new track “hollow,” the two-track pairing delivers a heartwrenching seven minutes of introspective reflection dwelling in the dark depths of the self. Hailing from Long Island, New York, indie rock duo anxioushum pairs singer/guitarist Syd Diaz with bassist Matt Sherman; drummer Aaron Masih features on drums in their new song, which was produced by Billy Mannino (Oso Oso, Bigger Better Sun). Based over 500 miles west of anxioushum, Molly O’Malley debuted in 2018 and has been delivering wave after wave of confessional indie pop outpourings ever since.
At first blush, anxioushum and O’Malley seem like an unlikely grouping – but as the latter explains, they’ve all been friends for some time, and the combined release just made sense. “Well, we’ve never actually met in person (yet),” O’Malley tells Atwood Magazine. “Matt, Syd, and I have been running in the same circles as far as friends and music go for a few years now. I ended up connecting with them on Twitter, of all places. I think I ended up following Matt because they had responded to one of my friend’s tweets about something super niche. One day early last year, I had tweeted about wanting to release a split with another band/artist, and it kind of just snowballed from there. We’ve been in talks about this for about a year now, and I’m so stoked that we finally get to share it with the world.”
“wore” and “hollow” are distinct in many ways, yet both songs involve an intense bout of self-reflection through diary-worthy lyricism, and each track rises and falls with lush walls of driven guitars and feverish emotion.
“Wore is about finding yourself in cycles that don’t serve you, and the painful process of forging a new path to something that does,” anxioushum’s Syd Diaz explains. Diaz’s lyrics are dark and deeply evocative:
over
wrapped up in cycles
I was too smart too be in
over and over again
faces
you made that same face in
all the photos that caught you
where you didn’t wanna be
and I grew tired of that feeling
the shame wore down my back
when you’re living in the fast lane
shit gets old pretty fast
mood ring
are you letting your phone ring?
‘cause it’s been off the hook
for three days straight
– “wore,” anxioushum
Molly O’Malley’s “hollow” is a fragile overhaul of sweeter, effervescent sounds in an equally dark and isolated context.
The artist’s voice glistens and resonates over a dazzling haze of ethereal and intimate guitar work. It’s just the kind of textured soundscape that evokes an emotional response in the listener, demanding not only our attention, but also our presence. O’Malley sheds layers of inner pain on visceral lyrics radiating vulnerability:
i don’t want to be
the afterthought
in your liner notes
i don’t want to be
the last thought on your mind
i want to be
the last thought before you go to bed at night
do those desires make me ugly?
does that make my soul hollow?
i feel like i wouldn’t question myself
if that were true.
but nothing’s black and white
and it took me years to get that right
– “hollow,” Molly O’Malley
“Writing this song felt like I was telling on myself in the sense that I’m admitting out loud how much shame I’ve carried towards myself my whole life, and letting other people in on it,” Molly O’Malley explains. “But at the same time, I’m finally recognizing that I don’t have to feel that way anymore, starting with the way I let others treat me. I shouldn’t feel shameful for wanting to be a priority to others. It’s okay to want to be important to someone. I wanted the music to also portray those emotions in the sense of the verses feel like the ruminating thoughts in your head, and the hook is me having the mental breakdown, trying to process the guilt and shame I’ve been carrying. Actually, I think I told Billy (mixing engineer) that whenever I was telling him how I wanted it mixed.”
Together, “wore” and “hollow” are a poignant, yet ultimately cathartic affair. Each song takes listeners on a journey through angst and inner turmoil that, while not perfect, reaches some form of resolution and acceptance. Stream anxioushum and Molly O’Malley’s split single exclusively on Atwood Magazine, and connect with both artists via the links below!
split is out everywhere February 18, 2021.
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Stream: “wore” – anxioushum
Stream: “hollow” – Molly O’Malley
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Connect to Molly O’Malley on
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
Connect to anxioushum on
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
Discover new music on Atwood Magazine
anxioushum ? © Marissa Cacioppo ? & EP art © Molly O'Malley art photo © Syd Diaz
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