<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The return of Adam Pressley (Prussia, Jamaican Queens<\/em>) and\u00a0Sam Swinson’s beloved project, Ohtis, is really good news. Formed and broken-up in Illinois while\u00a0currently reunited\u00a0and divided\u00a0between LA and Detroit, Ohtis\u00a0premiered<\/a>\u00a0the first track “Runnin'” off of their forthcoming album\u00a0Bobo, Dad, and Holy Ghost.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

“Runnin'” feels like something out of 2008. A story-driven, soft spoken Fleet Foxes-esque tale or a sad desert realization with dampened\u00a0slide guitar wading in and out\u00a0circa Wilco’s self-titled record. \u00a0Ohtis brings us a track that feels like a hand floating out of\u00a0the window of a silent car ride, the wind pushing back against a palm telling it what direction to go, the only conversation being the sound of air escaping between parted fingers.<\/p>\n

The track opens with:\u00a0\u201cThe expression you were wearing of emotional pain \/ Like anybody struggling to keep themselves sane,\u201d <\/em>that\u00a0set the tone of\u00a0Ohtis’\u00a0painterly Americana breed of misery. It’s a song about surrender, drunk driving through the plains\u00a0and crossed\u00a0fingers for a lovers return. The chorus drifts away from uncertainty and sways towards an invitation into a new past with the line: “We together will be better than me.” <\/em><\/p>\n

With\u00a0<\/em>“Runnin’,” Ohtis has\u00a0delivered\u00a0an\u00a0atypical strain of heartbreak that hones in on what’s to be gained, not what has been lost. The experience feels as it was seen through two sets of eyes, although only one voice remembers everything the eyes had seen. It isn’t until a female voice sneaks into the final reprise of the chorus that you feel that resolve is near and the next adventure even closer.<\/p>\n