O'Summer XXYX

Post date: Jan 25, 2016 3:24:31 AM

By Eric Goodwin

The other day I got the chance to interview Leanah Chestnut, who is the lead singer and guitarist in the Murfreesboro band O, Summer, a four piece band cited in the Nashville Scene as “pop-leaning rock”.

Leanah and I grab a table at a Thai restaurant and begin to talk about the band’s new EP titled XXYX, which, Leanah states, comes from the chromosomes signifying a boy and a girl. This title clearly signifies some type of love, but love is not the only topic addressed in the band’s debut recording.

“XXYX” is also the title of the EP’s first song. Its slow introduction of a simple bass line paired with smooth vocals leading into a crashing but organized chorus is the perfect lead-in to the five song EP, which can be streamed on SoundCloud (in the future, the band hopes to bring the music to iTunes and Spotify).

“I write all the lyrics but Cami [guitar/vocals] helps put together riffs and stuff, and so I’ll write words to go along with some of her riffs.”

Some beautiful lines shine through in the first verses, and the lyric “in another dimension was her soul” poignantly encapsulates the true soul of the band- they clearly show great potential for the future, and the way things just fit together raises the band to another plane in the music world.

Followed by the title track is the song titled Lot, which is referring to the Biblical character.

“Like, post Sodom and Gomorrah when Lot is trying to escape Sodom and Gomorrah because God gives him permission to … his wife is really scared, and God told her not to look back at Lot because Lot was behind her … she did because she didn't trust God and so she turned into a pile of salt.”

So far, we have love and religious stories thrown into the mix. What’s next? Old age, and finding joy in memories instead of grief, of course.

“That’s what ‘Nickel for Your Thoughts’ was about: it’s about an old man who lost his wife and is remembering good memories instead of feeling sad.”

Leanah says she got the idea after her dad mentioned an NPR piece from a well-known musician who said it is good to write songs from the perspective of other people.

The last two songs never falter as well. “Heroine”, a personal favorite of drummer Anna Murphy and bassist Justin Goodhart, was written at 2 a.m. and originally “a really angsty, sad song … but then I was like: these lyrics have some potential, and I don’t really wanna sing a really sad, angsty song with my band, so I’m gonna make a better riff to go with it. So I did.”

“Good Company” was written because the band needed something catchy. If that’s the only inspiration behind the song, then it succeeds faultlessly, because I’ve been humming it ever since hearing it.

Perhaps what makes O, Summer different is the band’s willingness to make changes in a moment’s notice, like when Leanah’s guitar strap broke in the middle of a school talent show performance (did I mention none of the members are even out of high school?) and she simply forgot the guitar and danced on stage for the rest of the song.

As for live performances, Leanah says that while there are no set dates, the band is “looking to play Mayday again, and we’re looking to play Autograph [Studios] again”. Furthermore, being featured in the Scene and having a full EP has opened the door to larger venues such as the Stone Fox and Soulshine Pizza.

Everyone should give XXYX a try. Even if you don’t enjoy music of this genre, the mere happiness and passion behind the vocals and instruments will leave you wishing you weren’t left with more than five songs. And hopefully, we won’t be waiting too long for that wish to be granted.