Multi-instrumentalist Jaws The Shark (real name Olly Bailey), has today announced the release of his long-awaited debut album, Wasteland! The 11-track body of work was written entirely by Olly himself, and was produced by previous collaborator, George Perks, at VADA Recording Studios. Performed by Olly, he is also joined by bassist Brendan O’Boyle, and Dinosaur Pile-Up’s Michael Sheils on drums. Pre-save Wasteland here.
Olly explains, “Wasteland is an album that I’d been wanting to write for some time now, and one that I’m really proud of personally. Some of the tracks that I write wouldn’t necessarily be put into the Jaws The Shark category when you look back at what I’ve released previously, but I wanted this album to show off some of my versatility that I like to explore when writing songs.”
The indie/alt-rock artist has also today released California, the first single to be taken from Wasteland. The fast-paced and swaggering track builds to a blistering chorus, which showcases Olly’s signature raw yet soaring vocals. He has also revealed the official music video, shot by Jamie Korn of Grow Up Sad. The visuals see Olly performing in front of various Californian scenes, and is later joined by a second guitarist, April, who is dressed identically to him. Listen here, and watch video here.
He says of the brand new single and video, “California was one of the last tracks I wrote for the record, it was one of those ones that just sprung out of nowhere and fell into my lap one day. I had a friend that moved from the UK to the US and in doing so it meant that her long term relationship collapsed. I wrote the track with that scenario in mind and wanted to write each verse from both people’s perspectives, from the one doing the breaking up and the one being broken up with. In the end after some time had passed, they both realised that it was actually for the best for both of them.”
“The video itself is representative of the track in the sense that it shows us batting with our feelings and emotions, as a relationship is being torn apart due to circumstance. Having April in the video represents the other person in the relationship, the male/female dynamic, but the fact that we’re also dressed in the same clothes and look like one another was a conscious decision to represent that you also need to take a look in the mirror at yourself sometimes and be a little more introspective.”
In celebration of both the album announcement and California’s release, Olly will headline London’s Notting Hill Arts Club tonight. Remaining tickets can be found here. The Devon-born artist will then head to Manchester to headline Off The Square tomorrow night, followed by a headline show at The Lanes in Bristol on 23rd March. Tickets can be found here.
2022 saw Olly release his debut EP, Another Day In Paradise, via Nice Swan Records (named ‘one of the best labels in the land’ by Clash Magazine). Shortly after this, he caught the attention of SO Records (home to Placebo, Enter Shikari, Deaf Havana and more), and released his self-titled EP with them. The 4-track release included a collaboration with Dinosaur Pile-Up titled Destroy The World, which has racked up almost 350k streams on Spotify alone. This was then up followed by EP, Cream, which features the title track which garnered support and received radio plays from the likes of BBC Radio 1 presenters, Jack Saunders, Alyx Holcombe and Nels Hylton.
Hailing from a small town in Devon, before relocating to London, Bailey discovered his passion for music at an early age. Drawing inspiration from a wide range of genres, from rock and indie to electronic and shoegaze, he has developed a sound that seamlessly blends different styles together.
Catch Jaws The Shark live:
21.3 – Notting Hill Arts Club, London
22.3 – Off The Square, Manchester
23.3 – The Lanes, Bristol
