Words by: Ysabela De Ocampo

Octopus Montage release their debut album, How to Live & How to Lose. The pop punk metalcore quartet brings a collection of explosive tracks, pulling sounds from different eras in the alternative music scene to create their own. From a thrashing array of drum styles to cutting guitar licks and gritty vocals, the band brings forth their most holistic release to introduce what they’re all about.

The record opens with “Grow Up,” an attitude packed banger. It’s racing riffy guitar intro, turns to pop punk-like verses trading off between clean and harsh vocals. Its electrifying screams and layers of twinkling guitars contrasting each other expands the sonic depth of the track and are reminiscent of bands like Blink-182 or Yellowcard’s earlier works. “Grow Up” perfectly introduces all the instrumental elements that are present in the rest of the record, as well as the band’s in-your-face attitude.

On songs like “Voices,” “A Shortcut” and “Vendetta,” Octopus Montage is a straight up heavy metal group. “Voices” offers a grandiose and thunderous opening with a winding metal beat and heavily distorted guitars that drone along with the stormy drums. The band shows off their ability to balance in this track as Dec Naylor takes the clean vocals and Alex Jennings brings out his gurgling screams for this record. “A Shortcut” thrashes with its blast beat-type drums and racing guitar moments, quickly turning the table and dropping you into a halftime break. These heavier tracks carry the weight of confessional lyrics pulled from the band’s deepest emotions. It’s heard on “Vendetta,” where the title track is lyrically featured to sum up what the record is all about. “Don’t wanna tell you what to do but you don’t have a fucking clue how to live or how to lose. So, get away from me.” The band brings forth their best angsty metalcore-style breakdowns on these tracks.

Octopus Montage balances out the heavier track by offering songs like “Right Here With Me” and “Dopamine.” Both songs pull influences reminiscent of the 2000’s punk and alternative rock sound. “Right Here With Me” shows off the bands ability to play as a pop-punk band. With confessional lyrics like, “So long and farewell, I hope you’re having fun and I knew you too well. I knew you better than everyone.” The track comes off a little bitter at first, but Naylor closes it out with its best line, “I can reach anything if you’re right here with me,” making for a sweet ending. “Dopamine” picks up the beat again with its electrifying guitar riffs and pulsating bassline and drums to sustain the records energy. It sounds similarly to the 2000’s style punk tracks, with an intermissive narration to set the track apart from the others. It’s playful and features the band’s ability to write with a bouncy pop punk approach.

Songs like “Phantom Settlements,” “Don’t Run Your Mouth” and “Mother Tucker Dude, That Hurt Like A Buttcheeck on a Stick” showcase influences from bands that were popularized in the 2010’s. Octopus Montage writes the chorus for “Don’t Run Your Mouth” similarly to the attitude packed lines that Jeremy Mckinnon writes for A Day To Remember. Alex Jenning shares. “The song touches on issues such as emotional manipulation, chronic complainers, and the idea that some individuals believe that their life is more difficult than everyone else’s. Lyrically, ‘Don’t Run Your Mouth’ is a middle finger to all the people I have met that are solely self-centered. We all have times when we can be a bit wrapped up in ourselves but for some people I feel like it becomes their personality.” On the other hand, “Mother Tucker Dude, That Hurt Like A Buttcheeck on a Stick,” wins for having the most memorable title on this record. It features a dense punk beat, similar to Bring Me The Horizon’s classic 2010 track, “Don’t Go” in the intro, and it’s another energetic thrasher. The track closes with a quirky sample where the title comes from, showcasing the light playfulness of this heavy hitting band. Meanwhile, “Phantom Settlements” offers a rock anthem type beat with its upbeat, pop-punk style vocals and riffs keep the energy high.  “We gave up our hopes when our leaders forgot to try,” the band offers honesty in their views of our current situations. “We’re doing nothing but wasting all our time…I’m scared for the outcomes of our lives,” the track is lyrically a relatable message for anyone who ever feels stuck.

The record nears it’s close with “Split” — lightening up the record with acoustic guitars and reverberated clean vocals taking the forefront, totally contrasting Octopus Montage’s heavier sound. The full band drops in to make another 2000’s style pop punk track, “Let’s split this 50/50 I hope you move on from me quickly.” The overall track reflects the youth and vigor of the band and is a reflection of what their lives are like. The last song on How to Live & How To Lose is, “Jennifer’s Secret.” The opening riff is reminiscent of early Brand New with glum opening line, “deaths inevitable in time.” It then becomes another blend of raspy dirty vocals taking elements from all the other songs on the record. It’s a perfect sonic-summary to close out the album, ultimately sustaining the records energy down to the last note.

How To Live & How To Lose has a diverse set of tracks to offer. The energy never stops, the band balances pop punk hooks, breath taking metal breakdowns and everything in between. Everyone is sure to find a piece of this record they will love, rebels at heart will gravitate towards the ‘stick it to the man’ attitude of the band. It’s a call out to all fans of heavy music, this record will make you want to shake, rattle and roll. Octopus Montage introduces what they’re all abut with this record, cementing their place in the scene as a unique pop punk and metalcore group.

Originally formed by siblings Dec [guitar/vocals] and Davina Naylor [bass], Octopus Montage is a UK-based quartet, rounded out by friends, Alex Jennings who takes over screaming duties and Cain Dylan is the driving force behind the drum kit. The band fuse energetic pop-punk anthems with intense metalcore to bring a whole new meaning to the term ‘easycore’. In 2017 the band jokingly released a cover of Simple Plan’s “What’s New Scooby Doo” and the release garnered over 9 million Spotify streams. The success of the cover catapulted the band to release their first EP, Reborn (…Again) in 2019. Octopus Montage has played alongside bands like ROAM, Crazy Town, Mallory Knox, SHVPES, and InVisions. They released their Catharsis EP in late 2019, featuring their summer single “Now I’m Gone,” a cover of Post Malone’s “Goodbyes,” and a handful of other hard hitting tracks.  Now the band unleashes their latest masterpiece and debut album, How to Live & How To Lose.

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