Oh Bummer! befriends a local “pain” salesperson in the blissfully chaotic video for his new pop single Watch it Break.
Oh Bummer! has today (February 1) shared Watch it Break, a shimmering pop gem that finds the LA-based singer-songwriter in the throes of heartbreak.
Carried by the glittery guitar strums of indie-rock and the intimacy of bedroom pop, the single at first feels like a carefree ditty, helped along by a leisurely vocal performance by Oh Bummer! (real name Tanner Houghton).
With its propulsive percussion and catchy line delivery, you’d be forgiven for thinking Watch it Break is simply a warm slice of pop euphoria.
And while all these sugary staples are there — from a call-and-response hook to chanting backing harmonies — the sunlit sound of the single is belied by its otherwise-incisive lyricism, which sees Houghton piece together the tatters of a broken relationship.
“We should both admit this isn’t what we thought,” he coos effortlessly in the first verse, “I know this story and I just can’t get involved.”
It’s a tale of heartbreak that reaches its climax on the anthemic, shouty chorus, but one cloaked in the sonic sheen of shiny bedroom pop stylings.
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So intimate is Houghton’s music, in both his storytelling and vocals, that you can imagine Watch it Break as a tear-stained entry scrawled into his very own diary.
Houghton isn’t limited to pop, though. On the second verse, he delivers lines in the acrobatic cadence of a hip-hop artist, and more broadly tells stories in the vein of folk-pop.
Watch it Break is accompanied by an official music video, directed by Brandon Tasker and premiering today on Happy Mag. The clip sees Houghton befriend a kerbside “pain” salesperson, and endure more than one pot plant smash to the head.
Watch it Break is expected to form part of Oh Bummer!’s upcoming EP, a follow up to his 2022 debut Losing Sunlight. The new project is produced by The KickDrums, and is set for release sometime in early 2024.
As for what we can expect, we’ll listen to the musician himself, who describes his songs as “a conglomeration of my depression and ADHD thoughts; the diary of an overthinker.”
Watch the video premiere of Oh Bummer!’s single Watch it Break above, and scroll down to listen to it on Spotify.
