The debut album from O_RLLY is a record of fallibility, a coming to terms with post-pandemic life as adulthood stretches into decades. Half Life is a mid-point reckoning, recognising the compromise of youthful idealism. Throughout the album the songs' protagonists find themselves acknowledging their limitations, reassessing their assumptions and challenging their place in the world.
Yet all this introspection does not come at the cost of melody - these are at their heart pop songs with a sparkling core, as waves of synths flow over chiming guitars, and each chorus hooks the listener further in.


Thought for the Day

O_RLLY are a bittersweet synthy guitar pop band from Leeds, West Yorkshire. Originally conceived as a bedroom project during Covid lockdown by former Finnmark! bassist Owen Radford-Lloyd, the band has since expanded into a 6-piece act with friends from the ever-vibrant Leeds indie community. 

Taking particular inspiration from Alvvays’ sparkling melodicism and the white-collar weariness of The National, debut album Half Life is a record of fallibility, and a coming to terms with the loss of youthful idealism as adulthood stretches into the decades. These are songs of uncertainty in a world irrevocably altered by the pandemic, scarred and unsure but not entirely without a sense of optimism.