Octavian Winters are a post-punk band from San Francisco consisting of members Stephan Salit (guitars), Randy Gzebb (drums), Jay Denton (bass) and Ria Aursjoen (vocals and keyboards). Undertow is the band’s single and was released on 02/08/2023.

The song is loosely inspired by the Hans Christian Andersen classic tale of The Little Matchgirl, who ignored by everyone, freezes to death in the snow after lighting all of her matches for warmth, and this feeling of isolation and yearning for a connection is a theme that a lot of people can resonate with!

The song kicks off with some funky yet meaty basslines that really set the tone for the song before heavy guitar riffs are introduced as an accompaniment. Keyboards then come into the mix, making the introduction a fuzzy haze of instrumentation created by the use of distortion, and is a great start to the song.

Ria’s vocals are strong and powerful, while bordering on a shoegaze style of singing. This gives the track a dreamy yet haunting atmosphere that really pulls the listener in, and the soaring vocal harmonies and backups really give the track a great depth.

Every aspect of the musicianship on this track, from the vocals to the pounding drums and thumping bass, to the electrifying guitar work, pulls out all the stops and really makes this a potent song to listen to.

This is an awesome track, and one that I think will appeal to fans of classic rock, as well as alternative rock and even grunge fans. So, check out Octavian Winters and their music and hear for yourself how great this talented band are!

Photo by Dina Marie Robinson

This review is the property of The Metal Asylum