Piglet’s music consistently offers its listener a tenderness and intimacy – with touching lyricism and ethereally shoegazing melodies, the songs are both deeply personal yet universally resonant. It’s for this reason that we’ve been waiting on our toes since Piglet’s (aka Charlie Loane’s) last single ‘dan’s note.’ Finally, the wait is over.
Released today, ‘Oan’ reaches a sonic landscape dense with synthetic grit, hints of sunny pop melodies and concern for a loved one. Previously exploring themes of the queer/trans experience through a personal lens, ‘Oan’ similarly delves into important matters within the social politic.
‘Oan’ points a figure at the unjust binaries society condemns us to: “we live in a system that morally collapses if we can’t point to certain people as the ‘bad’ one, the ‘ill’ one, or the ‘addicted’ one,” notes Loane. This sentiment isn’t communicated aggressively, but subtly points a finger at the tenuous pillars of a world preoccupied with the superficial categorization of individuals. Lyrics like “The rain is sheeting sideways, we decide to get smashed/ Regardless of the weather what do we do but that?” are arresting – they are spoken in such a straightforward way that it takes a moment to realise how deeply they’ve probed our psyche for personal associations and predilections.
This perfect simplicity translates to the track’s music video – a DIY recording of the singer dancing in front of street corners, ocean life and fireworks amongst other projections. The video’s grand images contrast the plain room they’re screened in, and the shirtless Piglet who dances in front of them embodies the raw emotion of the music. Layered with the lyrics typed out at the bottom of the screen, the viewer is finally faced with an image of Loane holding a yellow lamp up to his face, in front of exploding fireworks, with the caption “I don’t know what to doOOoooOOoOoOoOOOooOOooo!!!” This image is the perfect example of what Loane’s music represents – playful at times, thought-provoking at others, unfiltered and honest throughout.
Piglet’s music is a melodic translation of laying one’s cards on the table, holding your hands up and saying ‘here you go.’ Our response? To do the same.
Photo by Holly Whitaker
