Singer-songwriter Oliver Keane starts the new year with another one of his beautiful records.
With the release of ‘3.5’ the young musician puts out a song that not only sounds absolutely great production wise, but also talks about something super relatable.
The beat of the song starts rather slow with a well produced drum and guitar part that almost sounds as if you’re in the studio recording with Oliver yourself. With the little instrumental break before the first chorus drops and then again during the second verse, the song gives you a chance to really listen to the lyrics. The whole vibe of the song is pretty chill, which compliments Oliver’s voice perfectly. If you have been around for a while I think you can hear pretty well that not only the production of the song has improved a lot but also Keane’s vocals. Which is why, in my opinion, the ending of the song sounds really beautiful. Just Oliver and the guitar truly emphasises again how good of a singer he really is.
In one of his latest posts on X the Derby singer talks about the meaning of the song: “I wrote it about hiding your anxiety from the people around you”, which is something a lot of people resonated with when he started posting snippets of the song on his social media platforms. I’m sure every single one of us has struggled with anxiety from time to time in one way or another. And I promise, you are not alone and even if it feels like it, play this song and it will make you feel understood and less alone again.
The music video is Keane’s way of thanking the people who raised him for all the support over the years and through his struggles. In a post on his Instagram he also explains how every little snippet of baby Oliver was taken by his dad throughout his childhood – which is a very fond collection of memories for such a personal song.
Talking of personal, the musician sings about how it feels to hide your anxious thoughts from the people around you. Talking about how he wants to “hold on just a little bit longer“ and going on to say that it feels like he “barely even know(s) my (his) name”. The verses sum up perfectly how it feels to try and not let anyone notice that something is wrong (“I don’t wanna think too long” / “I hate being on my own I can barely breathe”).
In the chorus he goes on to talk about how the people around him make him lie (“you got me lying through my teeth”), because he does not want to tell them that something is wrong in order not to worry them (“I couldn’t bare to keep you up at night, swear I’m fine”). Oliver also goes on to say how he doesn’t want his “girl” to look at him any different just because of his anxiety (“cause I couldn’t bare it if that’s what you see, constantly”), and therefore decides to just believe that she doesn’t have to know (“so I’ll keep believing if that’s what you need”), even though in reality he probably knows that this is not his only or best option in order to deal with these emotions. But nevertheless – he keeps his feelings inside.
To sum it all up: Oliver Keane once again captured one of the most common feelings in a beautiful way and manages to make you feel so much more understood.
Written by: Lara Thissen
Edited by: Sem Van Poucke
