Wherefore art thou? - A review of Oliver Keane’s euphoric guitar anthem, ‘ROMEO’
The Derby-born Oliver Keane has been making a name for himself as a rising star within the UK music scene, dazzling audiences with his genre-blending indie/alt sounds brought to stage and studio alike.
Kicking off this year in support of Giant Rooks on their European tour, quickly followed by a UK tour with Sea Girls, Oliver’s loyal fan base has only grown with his musical strengths.
On August 23rd, he released the highly-anticipated single, ROMEO, announcing via an Instagram post that “this is only the start” of his new era of music.
Since then, the song has racked up over 17k listens and counting on Spotify and rapidly become a fan favourite at his live shows.
“Oh Romeo, Romeo, what is the vibe, Romeo?” - Looks like a relationship that’s probably not the healthiest!
The two verses in the song point towards that, with the first saying, “You always call me when you’re not around / Or just to prove me wrong” and the second “Yeah you just want to make love, make love / Not talk it out when we fight”. In the first verse, she’s absent, chastising him from afar. In the second, she doesn’t feel the urgency behind the need to communicate and clear the air after a fight.
Can we blame her? The singer reveals himself through the chorus: “You know I’ve never been the type of guy to romanticize someone I barely know / But honey I took you home just so I’m not alone” - he knows better than to get caught up with someone he just met but his needs are stronger than his better judgment. The “honey” he takes home could be anybody. Whether the feelings in that moment have the ability to last beyond a night or not doesn’t matter, so long as the singer is “not alone”.
Then, anxiety and experience catches up with the singer as the chorus continues, “I get stuck on a feeling you’re just gonna tear me apart / It’s a side effect of everybody leaving” - he’s been through this before. He knows that bringing a girl home and leading her on for himself isn’t right yet he’s now built some sort of bond with her. He’s biding his time wondering how long it’ll last until he gets torn apart when she realizes she’s just there to fill a void for him.
The “feeling” the singer references can be intoxicating, can even feel like love - “Remember we were eighteen / In love” - but really, it’s more like a form of anxious attachment. When every day with someone could be your last, it has a tendency to only make you want them more, to cling tighter, unsure if the person is going to stay or not. It can all be pretty intoxicating: “Got addicted to the feeling / The moment if you’re gonna leave me tonight”.
Attraction, even surface level, can inspire you to do all sorts of things to keep the other person coming back for more…
The song’s speaker calls himself Romeo: a romantic, lovesick guy who will do anything to keep his girl around, but the connection started with the speaker looking for a “honey” so he wouldn’t be alone.
It was never about her or about them but from the start, it was always about him. The singer realizes he’s fallen into this pattern again, so when she inevitably lets him go, he’ll understand - “I’ll always be your Romeo, oh but / I won’t blame it if you let me go”.
So, it turns out that Romeo’s vibe is vulnerability and self-awareness:
The song is more about the flaws and insecurities of the singer than the romance or love that comes with pursuing and being with a Juliet. Its energizing drums and bold guitar offer a familiar yet totally distinct indie sound, displaying the romantic struggles of Oliver himself to his listeners who can all relate to some extent. With Romeo, well, it’s personal.
Pushing back against his inner critique, the release of ROMEO feels like a significant moment in Oliver’s progression. The singer explained: “I've realized what matters is putting my heart and soul into the art and letting the beauty of subjectivity decide who enjoys it and appreciates it. It makes me so proud to release my single ROMEO, an imperfect song about an imperfect relationship, for all of your imperfect brains to enjoy and listen to.”
If you enjoyed ROMEO, you’ll be glad to know that Oliver Keane just released a new single, GIVE ME A REASON, which you can listen to alongside the rest of his music on Spotify below: