BearFoot, a newly-formed band founded by three students, John Rhodes, Jonah Thornton, and Isaac Baker, released their first song on October 22nd.

Their song, “Oh.,” resembles many alternative songs with angsty lyrics and moody accompaniment of electric and bass guitar, drums, bells, a synth pad, and synth drum. Like many new bands trying to find their sound, they put out a catchy song that was overly digitalized.

After 57 seconds of just the accompaniment, the vocals finally kick in. The vocals are hard to listen to, as it sounds like they’re singing underwater. It’s almost as if they meant for the vocals to be in the background with the accompaniment drawing too much attention away from the under-enunciated lyrics. The beat and melody, however, is very catchy. It constantly got stuck in my head on my way to class.

Repetition is big in this song; the first two verses get repeated along with the phrase “oh,” which could be an indicator to the meaning behind the song title.

I think the over digitalization is partially due to the group trying to sound dynamic and produce a quality that’s hard to find in new bands. Adding backup vocals in the second verse also created more confusion, since the lyrics became even harder to understand. I really enjoy the melody of “Oh,” I just wish I didn’t have to read the lyrics to figure out what was being sung.

I like the art they have for their band photo on bandcamp.com, it’s messy and abstract but also seems put together, however the simplicity of the song art for “Oh” makes it seem amateur. Anyone could make bubble letters of a song title and put it on a website, so more creativity could have been involved in branding the song.

There is no doubt that everyone who is a part of BearFoot has potential to become something so much better than the typical inept sound new bands tend to have for their first few releases. I definitely recommend listening to “Oh.” by BearFoot, despite their messy beginning, and supporting the boys as they attempt at a career in the ever-changing music industry.