EP Review: The Mary Anning EP

Oyawa is a three-piece indie/alternative band hailing from Auckland, although the members come from all over, and is made up of the collective efforts of Brett Garrity, Miles Gillett and Nikki Ngatai. 

Formed in late 2011, this isn’t the first time I’ve heard of Oyawa and after listening to this EP I’ll be keeping an eye out for their upcoming shows – I suggest you do the same.

The first thing that caught my attention was name of this EP, The Mary Anning EP, Mary Anning was a famous English fossil collector, dealer, and palaeontologist (her most famous being in Jurassic marine fossil beds). I absolutely love this nod to history and think it’s a great touch. The album cover also reflects this.

Secondly I want to talk about the overall sound of this EP, I need to mention the respect I have for vocalist Nikki’s melodic tones throughout the entire album, as it adds something that you don’t hear in New Zealand bands all too often, and she definitely adds something unique to the overall feel.

From the moment the first track See You Through started I was instantly reminded of Tool, from the sound of the bass and drums. When the vocals kick in, everything just ties together so beautifully.

Another track I feel the need to talk about is Darkness Has No Name. Lyrically it’s hands down my favourite and musically is reminds me of another New Zealand band I Am Giant. Normally I try to avoid comparing local bands to others, but I can’t help it this time, and trust me when I say that that’s a compliment.

You can tell that a lot of love and time has clearly been put into every aspect of this EP, I sincerely cannot wait to hear more from Oyawa and I imagine that seeing them preform would be quite an experience as well. Do yourself a favour and go pick up The Mary Anning as soon as you can.

_{Review written by Jessie Armstrong}