Chicago indie-rockers Ax and The Hatchetmen return with the bursting love song “Oasis” — which, yes, does include references to the legendary Britpoppers — out now via Arista Records. The upbeat new single is the band’s first release since July’s Constant Change EP and arrives alongside the news that they will release their eagerly awaited debut album, So Much to Tell You, on October 24. See the full tracklist below.
The news follows the launch of Ax and The Hatchetmen’s U.S. headlining So Much to Tell You Tour, which will kick off Wednesday, October 22nd, with a sold-out home state gig in Urbana, Illinois, and runs deep into December. There will be a brief break this month as frontman Axel Ellis wraps up his tour with The Runarounds, the rock band at the center of the fictional Prime Video high school music drama series The Runarounds, in which he costars as Neil Crosby.
Mixing chiming indie rock, ’90s power-pop, and ’60s sensibilities, “Oasis” plays like pure joy. Lifted by breezy guitar, radiant horns, jaunty drums, and a chorus of backing “oohs,” Axel sings sweetly to the object of his affection: “You’re my only motivation, no hesitation / Are you hearin’ what I’m sayin’? / You’re like a cold drink of water, out in the desert / Oh girl, you’re my oasis.”
Axel spoke on the meaning behind the new single: “‘Oasis’ is about the person you’d give it all up for in a heartbeat. No matter what or how much you’ve got going on, you’re picking up the phone if they call. When you’re with them, all of your problems and stresses fall to the wayside. Maybe it’s not even a person, maybe it’s a passion or a place that makes you feel alive.”
“The band Oasis notably referenced lots of Beatles songs in their work,” he continued, “so with this one we had fun referencing both bands in the lyrics. The song to me is somewhat of a play on songwriting and love songs in general — the bridge starts with, ‘It’s all been done before,’ which speaks on the irony of trying to write a love song that feels new in a non-derivative way. If you haven’t found something that feels like your ‘oasis’ yet, I hope it comes your way soon.”
So Much to Tell You will also include some of the already fan-favorite songs heard on the Constant Change EP, a dizzy swirl of gritty garage-rock, psychedelic jangle, and jammy dynamism brought to life in part by storied producer Jake Sinclair (Panic! At The Disco, Weezer) who not only connected the group with their hero Albert Hammond Jr. of The Strokes for the explosive lead single “Blurry Lights,” but also helped source a long-lost Rivers Cuomo demo for the sunny, carefree cut “7×9.” Also joining the LP tracklist are the racing bliss bomb of an early single “Stay // Honestly” and “Hotel Room,” an infectious tune that captures the ache of long-distance romance (and whose lyrics give the album its title).
Following the release of Constant Change, the band sat down for in-depth chats with The Luna Collective and Melodic Mag, and also hit the road for a summer run supporting Fitz and the Tantrums on their Man on the Moon Tour. For their current headliner, Ax and The Hatchetmen are joined by a rotating cast of talented friends: Edgehill, Kids That Fly, Foxtide, Good Boy Daisy, and John-Robert. Tomorrow, October 4, they play the Mighty Roots Music Festival in Clarksdale, MS. Experience the band’s freewheeling live chemistry at a date below, and stay tuned for their first full-length statement, the fittingly titled So Much to Tell You.
Ax and The Hatchetmen, So Much to Tell You
- Track 1
- “Flagstaff”
- “Love Songs”
- “7×9”
- Track 5
- “Oasis”
- “Blurry Lights” ft. Albert Hammond Jr.
- “Hotel Room”
- Track 9
- “Sunscreen”
- “Stay // Honestly”
- Track 12
Ax and the Hatchetmen Live Dates
Oct 04 – Clarksdale, MS @ Mighty Roots Music Festival
Oct 22 – Urbana, IL @ Red Room at The Canopy Club *
Oct 29 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom ^
Oct 30 – Tucson, AZ @ Hotel Congress (Club Stage) ^
Nov 01 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Soundwell ^
Nov 02 – Las Vegas, NV @ Swan Dive ^
Nov 05 – Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex ^
Nov 06 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent ^
Nov 08 – Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater ^
Nov 10 – St. Louis, MO @ Delmar Hall =
Nov 11 – Little Rock, AR @ Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack =
Nov 13 – Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club
Nov 14 – Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall
Nov 15 – Washington, DC @ Union Stage =
Nov 18 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall =
Nov 19 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg =
Nov 21 – Chicago, IL @ Metro =
Nov 22 – Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre =
Dec 02 – Kansas City, MO @ Warehouse on Broadway +
Dec 03 – Oklahoma City, OK @ 89th Street – OKC +
Dec 04 – Austin, TX @ 29th Street Ballroom +
Dec 05 – San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger +
Dec 06 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada +
Dec 10 – Orlando, FL @ The Abbey –
Dec 11 – St. Augustine, FL @ Colonial Oak Music Park –
Dec 12 – Tampa, FL @ Crowbar –
Dec 13 – Charleston, SC @ The Charleston Pour House – Deck –
Dec 14 – Greenville, SC @ Radio Room Greenville –
Dec 16 – Portland, OR @ Dante’s
* support from Edgehill
^ support from Kids That Fly
= support from Foxtide
+ support from Good Boy Daisy
– support from John-Robert