Olive Amun - Don't Leave Yet (REVIEW)

Initial Thoughts

Melbourne’s very own magnificent, genre-less intersection of hip-hop, indie and pop, Olive Amun, released his debut EP ‘Don’t Leave Yet’ to the world a mere week ago. In that time, the WAEVZ team has found it to be an undeniably irresistible listen, one that effectively taps into those feelings of frustration, loss and pain that come from a failed relationship.

Olive Amun’s sound traverses beyond traditional musicality, something which has consistently seen the young artist opting for a genre-less approach that is indicative of his own diverse taste and sentiments. The EP sees Amun embracing his undeniable talent for warm, refrained guitar riffs and catchy, regretful hip-hop melodies, making for a project which is a truly spectacular listen from start to end.

Song Breakdown

‘Threats’ ft Kuji

Immediately, EP opener ‘Threats’ holds the listener in a warm embrace, delivering luscious vocals from Olive Amun and gorgeous acoustic guitar notes latent with themes of longing and reflection. The track itself sees Amun contemplating a love which makes him go through a range of emotions, a love which gives him life and takes it away by equal measure. ‘Threats’ features brilliant instrumentation and production work from a litany of wonderful musicians and producers including Philkeys, Emilio Dümar, Eleftherios and MixedByTrae (who also mixed the entire EP), as well as producer and musician Kuji, who compliments the track’s tone with his own impressive vocals and flow.

‘Bad Dreams’

‘Bad Dreams’ begins with playful psychedelic synths that excellently transport the listener into the mind of Olive Amun. Here, Amun speaks on a love which has kept a hold of him, taking him on a whirlwind within his own subconscious as he pleads for an escape from the murky waters of overthinking. Amun finely balances this feeling of disarray in his dreams through a mix of electronically distorted vocals and guitar chords with soothing refrains and easy-going guitar notes. All of it points to the fact that there is beauty within the chaos of this particular relationship, and Olive Amun has captured it superbly with ‘Bad Dreams’.

‘Again’

Admitting to mistakes is critical to undergoing self-growth, however self-realisation does not necessarily prevent one from falling back into the same trappings again. With ‘Again’, toxicity is rampant in the relationship described by Amun, who faces a critical internal dilemma, namely in how his desire for freedom and independence clashes with inherent romanticisms about the nature of relationships. The production by Fossa Beats, along with Amun’s echoey vocals, adds to the feeling of falling back in with that person who may or may not be what is best for you, with the speedy drums resembling an incessant reminder of Amun’s internal turmoil.

‘Interlude’

Ephemeral vocals, enhanced in a crescendo and decrescendo-like fashion, signal the highs and lows that Amun has become all too familiar with. A perfect interlude which acts as a microcosm for this EP.

‘Blues’

‘Blues’ has the kind of fantastically catchy, albeit painfully self-aware chorus that you can picture reciting with Amun live at a gig. Within the track, Amun conveys that the woes and fatal flaws of his relationships are what seem to bring him back again and again; ultimately to his own detriment. His wish for transparency and a different end to things this time around clashes with his own unfortunate tendency to create a hassle in order to make up for a lack of a concrete love in the first place.

‘Damage’ ft Holly Hebe

Holly Hebe’s vocals are a gorgeous accompaniment to this immense track, one which conjures feelings of being lost in a love that takes everything out of Amun. With ‘Damage’, Amun appears to be speaking from the perspective of his internal voice warning him away a love which will leave him hurt recurringly: “She gon’ break your heart and leave ya’, she gon’ vanish, she gon’ cause all this damage and it’s havoc”. It is a significant way to conclude this EP, pointing to the realisation that the trappings of this relationship have conditioned Amun to remain wishful for a positive end.

Final Thoughts

Whilst sonically Amun feels at home on ‘Don’t Leave Yet’, lyrically it is evident that the genre-bending artist is stepping out of his comfort zone with the experiences he is unearthing for the listener to absorb. Amun, in his entirety, is laid bare for the listener to understand and relate to, providing both the artist and the audience with the chance to overcome their own past struggles through taking in Amun’s heartfelt words.

With ‘Don’t Leave Yet’, Olive Amun has sculpted a project with a self-awareness and regret that refuses to adhere to the notion that one can easily move on from a separation of any kind. Amun’s words reflect upon the intrinsically non-linear makeup of a failed relationship – or rather a relationship in the midst of failing – poignantly reminding us that it is not always simply a case of breaking up and moving on. Consistent throughout the whole EP though, is a latching onto the feeling of what could have been had that special someone stayed in a relationship undeniably intruded upon by the chaos of the modern world. And it is this feeling which Amun emphatically succeeds in capturing throughout the course of the EP, one which no doubt many have experienced within themselves too.

Words by Matthew Badrov

Published June 9th, 2021