The Ocelots - Everything, When Said Slowly (2025) Hi-Res

Pop-infused indie folk with a touch of literature and blarney. As well as being a wild cat from the Americas, the Ocelots are also twin brothers Ashley and Brandon Watson who hail originally from Wexford, Ireland, but after a time travelling around Europe and Australia, currently reside in Leipzig, Germany. “Everything, When Said Slowly” is their second album and it was recorded in their hometown of Wexford after a Kickstarter campaign, and features the brothers’ sibling harmonies with songs written individually by Ashley and Brandon, with one co-write. The brothers Watson play guitars, piano and clawhammer banjo and are joined on some tracks by Conor Cunningham, Jessie Monk, Pauli Eschenburg, and co-producers Cillian Byrne and Lorcan Byrne, who add atmospheric colouring. Historic Irish migration and their own experiences of leaving Ireland and Australia have helped inform the songs on the record, which reflect a view of life informed by literature and in some cases, a sense of absurdity.

The opening track ‘The Lighthouse’ gives a good overview of what to expect from the Ocelots as it features Ashley and Brandon on a tune about wild dogs foraging for scraps and their journeys set against the backdrop of an oceanic scene. The Ocelots’ pop smarts are to the fore on ‘About You’ which sees their harmonies and acoustic guitars joined by a full band including flute and synths. Brandon’s ‘Landlords’ brings the banjo to the fore and manages to invoke the thought of a bright sunny day. On ‘Australia’ Ashley links their own travels with Irish migration on a song that features a reference to Tom Wait’s ‘Rain Dogs’, a major influence on the brothers. ‘Joy Outside’ has a rich soundscape that would not be out of place on a ‘60s psychedelic compilation. The piano is to the fore on ‘The Good of a Bad Year’ which feels comforting in a winter’s evening way. The warm days of summer are invoked on the ‘Front Door Key’. The brothers’ sound takes on more of a rock hue, with the ever-present banjo, on ‘Fool To Want You’. Cycling is the inspiration for ‘Tunnels’ which see the Ocelots back in more familiar pop folk territory. The Ocelots give their take on a wordy love song with ‘Innocence of Love’ that builds to an unexpected dissonance in the music. Italo Calvino’s book of the same name inspired ‘Invisible Cities’ confirming the Ocelots’ literary and travel interests.

Ashley and Brandon are clearly still young, and this may help to explain their at times over literary lyrics, but they certainly have a knack for writing pop-friendly tunes. They recorded “Everything, When Said Slowly” with a small group of musical friends live in the studio, and then overdubbed themselves back in Leipzig, and they have managed to create interesting soundscapes for their tunes while still maintaining the folk feel of guitar and banjo. The Ocelots are clearly a band to watch, and you can see them developing quite an audience with younger listeners. Time will tell how they will develop and if they will get a chance to make a fully funded album in future, but at the moment they are showing real promise at making pop songs that reflect their folk origins while managing to bring varied sounds to their recordings that aren’t afraid to bump up against their pop-influenced melodies.