South London outfit WOOM are forging a new path forward in their sophomore EP, To Slow You, as the “band-meets-choir” let their entirely original compositions take centre stage.
Threads can be woven between the ethereal vocal stylings of Imogen Heap and Caroline Polachek or the shoegaze-inflected sonics of Mazzy Star, but WOOM proves that they’re singular in To Slow You. The vocal ensemble is creating something wholly unique through their baroque-tinged, at-times dissonant arrangements, challenging the ears of those maybe unfamiliar with choral music.
Structurally echoing their first EP, Into the Rest (2021), WOOM kick off their second project with ‘Be Brave’, a four-part chorale a capella which showcases their flair for vocal arrangement. Weaving moments of dissonance akin to Morten Lauridsen or Eric Whitacre, WOOM remind the listener that, first and foremost, their work is classically charged.
Throughout To Slow You, we hear how the group has reconfigured their sound to align with their influences. It embraces a distinctly darker soundscape, reflected in lead singles ‘Circe’ and ‘Slow You’. With the group’s first EP featuring re-imaginings of Frank Ocean, OutKast and Angel Olsen, hearing their original compositions offers an insight into the group’s true musical direction.
Production (both live and electronic) takes a more significant role in this EP, but the band never drop their “-meets-choir” epithet. Vocals remain at the forefront of each track, carefully mixed by the group’s Arlo Day and Oli Barton-Wood.
To mark the release of To Slow You, WOOM will be headlining London’s ICA on 26 September 2025.
To Slow You is out 28 August via House Anxiety.
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