Ought’s third album is likely to divide fans on a first listen. On Room Inside The World Tim Darcy expels the sneeze that was brewing on 2015’s Sun Coming Down and lets out a soulful bellow. Room Inside The World sees Ought’s sound inverted in on itself going from the brittle and jagged to something thick and deep. The new wave-influenced sound is something which doesn’t clone or pastiche. The songwriting remains familiar to Ought, only this time around it’s in a new set of clothes.

The obvious surprise from the album is the reshaping of Tim Darcy as a frontman. He couldn’t sound like more of a contrasting figure to previous Ought releases. His vocal on previous records was nasal and abrasive, which made Ought sound distinct. On Room Inside The World his vocal is huge, crooning and soulful, it comes from the gut and is still very distinctive to Ought. Room Inside The World is like a photo negative Ought which has all the same strengths just inverted in on itself.

The songwriting on the record has become noticeably more refined. Their songs are sharper and sound more confident. The album’s lead single ‘These 3 Things’ sticks to a very traditional song structure, the song is punchy and the vocal hook of: “Will I hear my soul/ Then I hear my soul” sinks its teeth in deep. The new wave styling of the band gives the chance to have more in the way of hooks and ultimately makes the band’s sound more dense. There’s still familiar Ought stylings in the melodies from the vocals, guitar and synthesisers but the bass and drums have changed up, adding a new flavour to these melodies.

Previous Ought releases sounded frustrated and angry which was channelled through a spiky post-punk sound. Room Inside The World does seem to have this same feeling of frustration and anger behind it, however, the band sound liberated by this feeling instead of confined by it. Songs like ‘Disaffection’ are when this mood, which had been bubbling under the surface for the majority of the album, boils over entirely. It’s one of the album’s high points. Ought have always had a tendency to build up lots of tension in their songs. This usually comes from the sharp rhythms which very aggressively tie together all the elements surrounding them. This isn’t amiss on Room Inside The World and is a signature trait of the band’s music.

The material on the first half of the album is very strong and it does feel like a winner. The singles are all very good and its pretty easy to get behind the album as a whole on a first listen. The momentum behind it does start to peter out after probably its most accomplished song ‘Desire’. The second half of the album just looses a bit of its edge and isn’t as memorable as the former.

The ambition behind Room Inside Tthe World is, to me, what makes it so enjoyable and exciting as an Ought release. Tim Darcy spoke about the writing process for the album which involved a lot of sharing of influences and ideas over the internet as well as taking the time to really come back with something solid. There’s much to praise about their new album and it shows how strong they are as a unit and take their craft seriously. The biggest contrast in sound isn’t in the superficial either. Room Inside The World is Ought at their most produced and this sounds like a big studio record. Whilst the under-produced sound of their previous records worked very well Room Inside The World is lifted by its studio production and only adds to the sound.

It’s very easy to get distracted by all the contrast between this album and previous releases from Ought. However, the quality of the album lies further than a bold change in sound. Room Inside The World is Ought at their most refined and arguably their most accessible. There’s much to get excited about from this record and it’s the first step into what I hope is a very eclectic future back catalogue.

Chris Middleton

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