Of One - Winter

One of my earliest reviews on Clean Sheets was Of One’s Domains which came out a mere two months after the foundation of the website. For those who haven’t got round to reading that, obviously please do so; therefore the following is a short recap of Alan’s career to date.

Of One is one of his many projects in a long career which also includes Decal (originally a duo with Dennis McNulty, then a solo venture post 2003), Decoy, Legion of One, Legion of Two, 90’s Indie/Shoegaze outfit In Motion and recently as part of four-piece UOUS, whose debut full-length Scrawled was put out on Newcastle’s wonderful Cruel Nature Records. Winter was recorded on December 14^th 2025 and completes what has been a seemingly prolific year for O’Boyle. Going by the album title and cover-art the theme behind these four tracks should be fairly self-explanatory and hence little need for a further explanation for yours truly. Those reading this must be full to bursting with booze, food and regrets from the festive period and craving something a little different, so, stick around…

‘Snow is Falling’ is the record’s longest track at nearly eleven minutes which despite not doing so here in Lancaster, nonetheless feels like you are being enveloped, gently at first before becoming overwhelmed. Musically we are talking minimalist ambient, the kind of thing you may find being put out by labels such as Warp Records. As intonated earlier there’s an omnipresent threat due to the unpredictability of nature making it resultantly more dangerous sounding than any run of the mill Death Metal outfit. Less is more as they say on this unexpectedly tense and exciting opener. ‘All Around Me’ by contrast is a little rougher around the edges than its predecessor and one could argue that it appears to have more in common with Noise Music, though far less abrasive than say Lou Reed’s controversial Metal Machine Music or Whitehouse. Think more along the lines of Kraftwerk’s earlier sonic experimentations, before they became the blueprint for a plethora of bad 80’s Synth-Pop outfits. A fascinating piece that demands repeated listens.

‘Children Playing’ sums up what I hear in my head when I hear kids, a maelstrom of squeals, shrieks, cries and shouts. This is conveyed perfectly with a barrage of amazing Drone goodness that nods to bands such as Sunn O))) and Earth’s Earth 2: Special Low Frequency Version then it does the world of Electronica. One of the heaviest pieces on the album and one that is sheer sonic engrossment for Doom fans such as myself, stunning. ‘Having Fun’ is the record’s shortest number at just shy of seven minutes and the resultant aftermath of the aforementioned aggressive ‘Children Playing’, or the fallout of a nuclear war to put it in bleaker terms. I mention the latter as there is a crackling quality to the music, a Post-Industrial/Dark Ambient vibe that I’ve picked up over the years from artists such as The Young Gods as well as Lustmord and the more contemporary Gridfailure respectively. A track whose very title sounds bitterly ironic considering what has just been written, yet one which concludes proceedings perfectly.

Winter on the surface sounds ominous but the realisation that the track’s four titles are in fact the opening lines to Shakin’ Stevens ‘Merry Christmas Everyone’ dampens the apocalyptic effect somewhat and will have you chuckling along instead. The worlds of that Welsh Poundland Elvis and the darker more underground sounds Of One colliding may seem incongruous, but they work brilliantly, as is evidenced here. One to definitely check out.