Oxsener Perspective on Volunteer
I'm Oxsener, my friends call me Patrick. I sing, I song, I write, I wrong. You might not know from the band Herb’s Excellent Adventure.
Every 5 to 6 weeks I release a new single – self written, recorded, produced, mixed, mastered and modifostered (I made that last word up). I guess my work is labeled ‘indie’: poppy, folky, rocky, chord and story driven, shamelessly personal and therefore o so relatable. Retro vibe? Absolutely. Heroes like Fink, Sufjan, Elliott, Stipe, Cornell, Beatles, Beatles and Beatles are never far off. But what comes out, comes out the way it comes out, and if I don’t like it, I can just sod off.
Live I bring that eclectic palette of tunes back to the bare essence: man, guitar, voice, period. If the songs can still move you then, I can die a happy man.
Volunteer describes dealing with a loved one in pain, the helplessness that goes with it, and how you wanna take away the hurting, if only for a little while. Heavy subject, as always. But musically and lyrically I try to approach it with a bit of lightheartedness and irony. As always.
The last couple of years I’ve had my share of suffering loved ones, as we all do. This song is for me a way of closure.
The song has a vintage, warm folky pop sound. a bit like R.E.M. approached their songs in the early nineties and, I guess, The Beatles in the mid sixties. I was also inspired by Expert In A Dying Field by The Beths, an album that is mixed really dry, which is remarkable and inspiring in an era in which indie songs are drowned in reverb.
