It’s been five years since Owl Eyes (Brooke Addamo) has had a solo release, but ‘On Me’ has been worth the wait. After years of collaborations, including her most recent tours as a vocalist for Flight Facilites, she has refined her dreamy pop sound. ‘On Me’ marks the beginning of something huge for Owl Eyes, as she returns to her solo career.

The alt-pop track is catchy but deep. The blend of her pop sound with the personal narrative of the song results in a track that is just as likely to bring the listener to tears as it is to bring them to the dancefloor. The slow synth chords lure the audience in, while Owl Eyes’ distinctly soft vocals, featured on tracks like Illy’s ‘It Can Wait’ and Flight Facilities’ ‘Heart Attack’, establish the powerfully poignant tone of the track. There’s a loneliness in her voice that contrasts the with the social setting of the track’s story. She is all alone, “in a room full of people”. There is a dreaminess to the instrumentation that adds to the emotion, with bright keys echoing with reverb and soft electronic trills floating up the melodic scale. As Owl Eyes kick-starts the chorus, admitting to herself that it’s “on me”, the honest acceptance of her own vulnerability bursts forward, alongside the layers of EDM influenced instrumentation.

Combining jabbing piano chords and tropical house marimbas, the chorus uses the repetition of the pop genre with the EDM conventions to create a catchy and infectious dance track. The song is simultaneously simple but complex. The simplicity of the music highlights the refined artistry of Owl Eyes’ alterative pop sound, while the complexity of her emotionally driven narrative exemplifies the improved songwriting of Brook Addamo.

“It was being on the other side of the world surrounded by people at a party but still feeling lonely, while the only person I wanted to be with wouldn’t talk to me. Deep down I am a romantic. I just hadn’t connected all the dots until I sat still for a minute in between intense periods of moving around and allowed myself to understand my truth,” she explains.