Raleigh, NC-based indie outfit OCNS — childhood friends Drew Cooney, Esdras Bouassa, Isaac Buna and Grandy Zodulua — formed back in 2016. Inspired by The Neighbourhood, The 1975, The Paper Kites, and Vacation Manor, “OCNS serves to provide a soundscape rich in catchy melody, infectious groove and emotional input,” the band says.
The members of OCNS have cemented themselves as being on the forefront of a rising, contemporary North Carolina indie scene with praise from the likes of local and international press outlets, including Stitched Sound, Plastic Magazine, Wolf In A Suit, CLTure, and When the Horn Blows among others.
The Raleigh-based quintet’s latest single “How Late It Was” is a breezy, yacht rock-take on synth pop featuring glistening synth arpeggios, a sinuous bass line, groove-driven drumming, razor sharp hooks and an easy-listening-inspired guitar riff paired with Buna’s plaintive falsetto vocals singing achingly wistful lyrics. While sonically nodding a bit at The Cars “Drive” and Wang Chung‘s “Dance Hall Days” and others 80s synth-driven fare, “How Late It Was” explores the unease and heartache of a relationship petering out to a sad and inevitable conclusion through the metaphor of time passing — and of it getting late, before you noticed it.
