Haley Heynderickx has unveiled her new single “Oom Sha La La,” and what an offbeat delight it is.Her dulcet tones, part spoken, part sung tumble forth like words on the page with a spellbinding, intricate eye for detail turning doubt spawned by mundane moments in time into positive affirmations.
This brilliantly tuneful shuffling sway, is laced with toe-tapping Shalala backings, sharing a rickety lo-fi undertone with Kimbya Dawson and a doe-eyed raw intimacy with Angel Olsen, or the introspective songwriting of early Emmy the Great, but its Heynderickx’s voice that scorches this tune on your brain, like a wax stamp on a very important letter. Her vocals underscored by an existential angst that’s released by songwriting as therapy so much so that she squeezes the life out of her larynx by the end. The chorus lines dance like precious moments of humour, joy and tunefulness amongst the detritus of a stream of consciousness, like the moment you laugh at how bad you feel briefly managing to release the tension for a while.
It’s the first single from the Portland natives debut album ‘I Need to Start a Garden’ on Mama Bird Recording Co.
In her own words:
“Oom Sha La La” is about the doubt we may feel attempting to derive meeting from our daily lives. It’s also a reminder that we could all potentially feel better once taking the time thoughtfully start a garden. It’s about the little details mattering, and I thought it was funny how silly the phrase was to say out loud, yet feels pretty dang good when you trick your friends into singing it with you.”
