Manchester’s Sample Text. have dropped ‘Oh My My,’ a track that is more a precisely calibrated flashpoint of early-aughts guitar music.

The quartet whose previous output hinted at an affinity for the genre’s fuzzed-out architecture cement their aesthetic here. ‘Oh My My’ is all brittle rhythm, hooks, and the kind of high-stakes, low-fidelity anxiety that once soundtracked every ill-advised late-night decision.

Produced by Tim Thomas (Gorillaz, Duran Duran), the single marries the Brit-core energy of the era with a self-aware melancholia. Lyrically, it dissects the corrosive social fabric of a decaying friendship, using the chant-ready chorus as a punchy, non-committal shrug: “Oh my my…”

It’s the sound of The Strokes’ urban ennui filtered through The Vaccines’ urgency, with a touch of Weezer’s earnest volume. A three-minute snapshot of a specific, chemically-induced youth.

Speaking about the track, lead guitarist and songwriter Jordan explains:
“Oh My My started as a song about a miscellaneous relationship breaking down, but then as it evolved and the lyrics got fleshed out, it became more specific toward a friendship. The core of it is the worry of a mate and their behaviour/lifestyle, but from a more nonchalant angle, maybe even a group of mates discussing another. “They got up to what on a night out?! Oh my my…
It was recorded with a pop-punk style in mind but with a more brit-core, 00’s indie scrapheap outlook. Trying to tie the themes of heavy nights out, concern for a friend and relationship pitfalls, with a cheeky flair.

We recorded it at Blueprint Studios with Tim Thomas. The idea was to marry the heavy body of the chorus with the more reserved verses. The groovy bass and tight drums keep the rhythm section locked in and popping, whilst the raw crunch of the rhythm guitar gives it that punch when it flies in. The lead is bright and bouncy to really emanate that swagger of the british indie roots. Then with the breakdown we wanted to give it a wavy almost psychedelic sound to distinguish it from the verse and chorus. Almost simulating a head-in-the-clouds, disassociation relevant to the themes.”

Headline photo: (Credit: Conagh Griffin)

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