We love a good side project especially if it’s something that diverges from the norm of what the OG is known for. You know what we mean? Like when Face To Face’s Scott Shiflett put a “Post” in front of his day job’s usual “Punk” with the decidedly more dark and Goth leanings of Viva Death. Or on that note when AFI’s Davey Havok did a similar thing with the more synthetic offerings of Blaqk Audio. With that in mind and on the flippity flip, hearing Radio Compass’ Angela Lee shed the Post-Punk sheen in favor of “elegant yet simplistic vintage-meets-new wave electronic pop rock sensibilities” for OK Bella! with Steve R. Lord (Dirty Bangs, Bodega Girls) is a nice change of pace.
The change of pace in question debuts on “After Hours” which is like the epitome of every great New Wave/Synth-flavored outfit of the ’80’s scoring the greatest John Hughes flick never made with programmed, static beats reminding us of Darkwave greats like Corlyx as Lord and Lee playfully pile on the instrumentation with piano runs and guitar licks that break free of any set standard of what the genre is supposed to be. All in all, the duo of Lee and Lord have hit some sort of sonic gold with OK Bella! as Lee trades in the feisty front person of Radio Compass in favor of a vulnerable yet vibrant performance on the duo’s debut single that’s more in tune with Aimee Mann circa ‘Til Tuesday or theStart’s Aimee Echo.
“After Hours” drops on September 13th and you can be in the know the moment it gets released when you head here. For more from OK Bella!, including the latest on more singles coming soon ahead of a full-length in 2025, follow the trail of socials across the interwebs when you head here or here.