Since their earliest releases, Shooting Daggers have demonstrated a rare ability to expand their sound without losing their identity. Two years on from Love & Rage, they return with The Real Life Thing, a mini-album due out on 5 June via New Heavy Sounds. The second single from the release, My Oh My, showcases the influences and personality that define the band. Trading some of their usual aggression for a slower, more atmospheric and emotional approach, the London trio craft a track suspended between melancholy, rage and simmering tension.
The reverb-laden guitars envelop the song in a hypnotic atmosphere that occasionally recalls the shoegaze textures of Slowdive, though cut through by heavier riffs and a DIY sensibility that steers clear of purely dream-pop territory. Echoes of Mannequin Pussy‘s more vulnerable side can also be heard, balancing delicacy and emotional rawness without sacrificing intensity. At times, the song drifts into more melancholic alt-rock territory.
This time around, Shooting Daggers take a more restrained approach. Bass and drums maintain a slow, enveloping pace while the guitars add depth and emotional weight. Ultimately, though, it is the vocal performance that takes centre stage, shifting between vulnerability and rage and making every emotion feel all the more immediate.
Amid images of fracture and emotional exhaustion, “My Oh My” gradually emerges as an anthem of shared resistance, reminding us that “we’re millions unbroken”.
“My Oh My is a song about hope. We must keep faith, because hope and resilience is what drives change, and we have to hold on to it. It’s about freedom for every country suffering the consequences of hegemony and the greed for power. It’s also about freedom for all animals, and an end to suffering in all its forms.”. (Shooting Daggers)
In times marked by exhaustion and uncertainty, Shooting Daggers find hope in collective resilience. Sometimes, all it takes is paying attention to the small things around us, if only for a moment, to find beauty, inspiration or something worth fighting for. That same feeling carries through into the music video, which draws on intimate, everyday imagery while remaining deeply human throughout.
“My Oh My” not only broadens Shooting Daggers’ emotional range, but also raises curiosity about where The Real Life Thing might go next, and we won’t have to wait much longer to find out.
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