Interview with Oscar Lindsey
"I feel we're the first generation that embraces nostalgia's beauty"
Oscar Lindsey isn’t just one of the most exciting folk-rock prospects around, he’s also introducing generations to nostalgia driven work that has you languorously reflecting on foregone memories.
Specialising in liminal spaces, Nashville-based Oscar's dreamy and intriguing cadence instantly rummages through the depths of your mind, cherry-picking provocations that leave you gasping in awe at its potent intimacy.
Built on intensely raw and unrestrained guitar picks, Oscar layers his doubled, almost ghost-like vocals onto production, ultimately moulding a formidable body of work that unwittingly enlightens, informs and cogitates.
His 2026 has been one filled with optimism, releasing singles Metal Through Her Lips and Flip A Coin to rousing success and spawning relations to that of the late, great Elliott Smith and Nick Drake, to name a few. But as welcoming as these comparisons are, Oscar strives to remain his own enigma.
Oscar is a breath of fresh air in this concerningly marked society. He offers hope, a dash of expressionism, and a chasm of authenticity that you voluntarily fall into - and keep falling for eternity.
And with a new album on the horizon including fresh single Painting The Walls, Oscar's promise is one that has sworn not to be broken - and we have unapologetically invested in his stocks.
Your recent singles seem to bridge a gap between really impactful art and your interest in liminal spaces, which is something that comes across in your video essays too. How has this crossover between different creative forms influenced the way you approach songwriting and production?
Wow, I've never thought about that. Well, I definitely see it in the artwork. I feel like my artwork over the past two years for my music has been super liminaI. I love that art form.
In terms of the music, I think it’s something that I'm doing subconsciously but I leave space in my music and my single Flip A Coin in particular, definitely has a dreamy feel to it.
With liminal spaces, there's also that element of nostalgia. This whole new record that I'm making is built around nostalgia in terms of our generation's relationship with it. I feel we're the first generation that embraces the essence of nostalgia's beauty. The record is also a new lens on a load of things, but this is my way of trying to make something timeless by borrowing a lot from the past and putting a new spin on it, sort of like a modern look on what nostalgia has been perceived as.
What is so compelling about revisiting the past?
I listen to so much old music - 1960s/1970s stuff, and then a lot of 1990s material specifically. I wish I could walk around in life 30 years ago and just see what it was like.
Once the years get away from a project, or years get away from anything, I really look at everything with rose tinted glasses and think, those were the days. But in reality, sometimes they weren't.
My first album, I did not know what the f**k I was doing and it just sounded so bad. Not to say the music was bad, but I was taking a different approach. I just didn't care about production. I would record something in a day and just leave it at that.
You balance an upbeat energy with quite a melancholic undertone, very similar to artists like Elliott Smith. Who is it that's influenced your own style?
I mean, I love Elliott Smith and he was a specific influence on Flip A Coin, for sure.
It's maybe even less of Elliott and more The Beatles for that song, because I was trying to write a Beatles-esque song, and then it's kind of packaged like an Elliott Smith song.
There are obviously a ton of comparisons to Elliott and I totally get it. He's one of my favourite artists. I love using the vocal recording technique of doubling your voice. Sometimes I don't like how my voice sounds by itself, so I always double my vocal and that’s where the Elliott comparisons come in.
My whole core goes back to The Beatles though and others like Alex G and Mac DeMarco. I love them for different reasons, mainly how accessible they have made their music.
I don't want to make all my songs depressing. On the upcoming album, there's some tracks that are really fun and crazy. I feel like I have a lot of songs in my catalogue that are weirdly positive, and it's cool to try to make music around that.
What is your favourite Beatles album and song?
The White Album is my favourite album and then favourite song... man, that’s so hard.
I really love Julia and Here, There and Everywhere. I love all of it though. I listen to the Beatles every single day.
Are you planning a UK tour anytime soon?
So, there’s rumours it might happen in May or June next year, that's what's being talked about right now. I hope that's the case. I mean, there's demand for it and I really want to do it. It's a dream of mine to play over in the UK.
... and do you feel your impact spreading across the globe?
If somebody's reading this and they're a fan in the UK or Europe, I am just so grateful that anybody over there listens to my music. It's still kind of a crazy concept to me that it’s spread that far.
It's so cool that people found it and resonated with it thousands of miles away. I had some fans this time last year, but so much has changed in the last four months or so, it's awesome.
I feel like every tour we go on, more people are coming and I keep getting cooler opportunities. The coolest part about where I'm at right now is that even though the shows are well attended, I can still meet and talk to every single person there. I love doing that. I mean, it'll probably be like that for a while, but that's something I'm gonna prioritize. But there is definitely something happening.
You once said in an interview that, "your network is your net worth". How important is your online presence in your progression, and how do you navigate such an ever-changing musical landscape?
One of my strong suits is that I'm pretty good at making internet videos, but I think making videos about music or promoting music are the hardest ones to do. It feels like people are rebelling against discovering music on social media.
I've had a ton of Instagram reels get loads of likes that were funny because when something's funny, people just want to watch it. Whereas when you’re promoting your music, you feel like you’re selling something.
But the trick is to disguise it as something relatable. And so from making funny reels I thought, why not do this for my music too? I had never marketed my music in any way, so I just started trying to make relatable videos about my music.
One of the first videos that did really well was for my single, Metal Through Her Lips. Initially, my brain thought this was never going to work, which in part is a stupid sentiment because it's just an app. I was going to archive the video because I didn’t think it would do well, but I went to sleep and when I woke up it had 5,000 likes and so many people were like, dude, I love this.
I feel I really started progressing and doing so much better with all this s**t as soon as I started trusting my own ideas and not asking people for permission and just doing what I thought was right. I'm just trying to think outside the box and keep things fresh, without caring about exterior opinions.
At the end of the day, it's like the Wild West with internet music. Everybody acts like they know what's going on but in reality, nobody knows. You’re right, the industry is ever-changing, but if you try to make the best music you can and promote it on social media in fun and intriguing ways, people are bound to see it and connect with it.
When can we expect a new album?
I've been giving away the record for two or three months on CD's at gigs. I don't give out that many because I don't want a ton of people to have it, but I've probably given out about 70 at this point.
The people who have listened to it are raving about it so that’s good, but it officially comes out on October 16th and it's called Sunshine. The album will be on vinyl and all that good stuff so it will be dope to release, I’m really excited.
The newest single off the album is called Painting The Walls. It's about having OCD so it’s quite personal, but I hope other people who struggle with OCD can listen to it and relate to it. OCD sucks so bad, it really can make life hell. However, even if one person listens to it and it makes them feel a little less by themselves, then that’s great.
