There’s something deeply romantic about tearing everything down and starting again. Bristol duo Oswald Slain know this better than most. After a decade of making music together, first as B O M B S, then as Little Thief, Charlie Fitzgerald and Rhii Williams made the bold decision to shed their skin and emerge as something entirely new. Their debut album ‘BUCKY’, released October 24th on limited edition vinyl, is the sound of that rebirth: messy, honest, and utterly captivating.
Under their previous moniker Little Thief, the pair had already made their mark on the UK circuit, gracing stages at Glastonbury, Shambala, and Liverpool Sound City, with nods from BBC Radio 6’s Steve Lamacq and BBC Radio 1. But sometimes success isn’t enough when you’re creatively restless. The rebrand wasn’t just cosmetic, it was existential.
The Art of Not Giving a F*ck
Born from their DIY home studio, ‘BUCKY’ captures a period of deep introspection and growth, with Fitzgerald channeling the chaos of youth and the trials of aging into songwriting that’s as sincere as it is humorous. But what makes this record special isn’t just what they’re saying, it’s how they’re saying it.
The entire album was recorded with a gloriously cavalier approach: songs written in the morning, recorded in the afternoon, mostly live with a cheap dynamic mic and no separation from the drums. This isn’t lo-fi for aesthetic purposes, this is liberation.
“We weren’t seeking perfection but it felt good not to be too precious about anything,” Fitzgerald reflects. And you can hear it. There’s a rawness to these eight tracks that feels increasingly rare in our algorithm-optimised world.
Producer Ryan Rogers of Mumble Tide, who was living with the couple at the time, brought “impeccable enthusiasm” to the project, which was then mixed by John Logan and mastered by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering, the same studio that’s worked with PJ Harvey, XTC, and Big Special.
VHS Nostalgia and Emotional Honesty
The title track sets the tone perfectly. ‘Bucky’ is what Fitzgerald calls “a washed out 90’s anthem of nostalgia and escapism”—a meditation on a time when VHS tapes were worn out from love and connection came slower. It’s a “fuck it all off, delete the lot and be free for a bit kind of tune,” and our take is that we need more of those.
The album, which dropped just six months after their debut EP ‘KISS ME ON THE MOUTH’, moves through its tracklist with purpose. Standout ‘Have You Got What You Came Here For?’ was penned after a particularly wild night playing bars in the French Alps, where the duo spent months as a scrappy two-piece entertaining drunk après-ski crowds. That freewheeling spirit bleeds through every note.
Across tracks like ‘Cranberry Juice’, ‘Happiness Is Overrated’, ‘Firing Line’, and ‘Golden Years’, Oswald Slain weave sleazy rhythms, driving drums, and nostalgic guitar lines into a celebration of personal flaws and flamboyant failures, the kind of self-acceptance that only comes after you’ve stopped trying to be anything other than yourself.
Their April EP received support from the likes of Asbo Magazine, RTE, KUTX, Sirius XM, Rough Trade’s ‘Counter Culture’, and Apple’s ‘New In Rock’ editorial proving there’s real hunger for music that prioritises feeling over polish. If you’re into Velvet Underground, Father John Misty, The National, The Strokes, or The Black Keys, this is your lane.
“Making this record was a massive turning point in our lives,” Fitzgerald admits. “After being a bit unsure of where things were headed and what we were doing, the days spent recording these songs in our little studio were the moments of clarity we needed.”
That clarity translates into something special on ‘BUCKY’. The album pulls from classic Americana, think Neil Young and The Band, while maintaining the gritty rock energy that defined their previous work. But more importantly, it sounds like two people who’ve stopped apologising for taking up space.
In an industry obsessed with perfection, Oswald Slain are championing the beautiful mess. And with their album launch show set for November 6th at Bristol’s Jam Jar, they’re just getting started.
Catch them at the Jam Jar in Bristol on November 6th for the album launch.
‘BUCKY’ is out now. Find Oswald Slain at linktr.ee/oswaldslain
