Magical musical musings care of the marvellous John Matthews.

I’m stuck at home working in front of my computer screen whilst listening to Channelling, Nathan Gregory Wilkins and Ivan Smagghe’s excellent downbeat show on London’s NTS Radio. The music is the usual mixture of the obscure, weird and wonderful, when a slightly scuzzy, but brilliant, guitar riff emerges from the speaker and instantly captivates me. Moments later a crisp breakbeat hits, followed by a dark brooding bass line that’s vaguely reminiscent of Joy Division and within twenty seconds I realise I’m listening to something quite special. Filtered effects drift into the mix before an ethereal voice delivers unintelligible lyrics and vocalised sounds that give the song a dream like, otherworldly feel. I’m reminded of lots of my favourite artists and yet, somehow this music still sounds new and fresh. I discover the song is called “Stay” and is by Officer John. When I head to Bandcamp the striking artwork that accompanies the download features a graphic of a guitar neck presumably being heat straightened by a steam iron. 

Mid-December 2025 and the exact same artwork appears on the cover of a 12” vinyl record that has just arrived by post from one of my favourite record shops, Boomkat. The reverse of the sleeve is plain white and stamped with the words “Wah Wah Wino presents The Return of Officer John by Officer John.” With the exception of a catalogue number there is no other information. When I play the record it reveals itself to be a compilation of tracks that have been previously released in digital form and features the aforementioned “Stay” plus four other songs. And what wonderful songs they are. 

“Pass” has a dreamy, balearic feel and is underpinned by a beat that’s guaranteed to get your head nodding. The vocals are utilised almost as another instrument, rather than to convey any specific message, and the guitar riff is just sublime.”Handle” is an achingly beautiful downtempo tune with a hazy, slightly psychedelic guitar sound, while “Awake” features driving bass and vocoded vocals to great effect. “You” is my current favourite Officer John song. The piano refrain is simply gorgeous, the guitar motif infectious and the ambiance has me yearning for the dog days of summer. The record ends with a killer  remix of “Stay” by Morgan Buckley that underpins the track with gritty boom bap hip hop beats and the thump of a pizzicato double bass. Stuttered cut up vocals, backwards guitar and a breakdown that features the sound of school children playing all combine to create a memorable lasting impression. 

These songs have become my musical obsessions over the past 9 months or so, and I’ve created real emotional connections to them. Information about the artist and label, Wah Wah Wino, is scarce, however, directly after a recent gig at London’s Below Stone Nest, I did manage to grab a quick word with the band’s front man who confirmed that Officer John is in fact his solo project, but expands to a live line up of 3, including a bassist, an additional guitarist and a drum machine. He mentioned he’s influenced by bands like the brilliant Parchman (who layer grungy guitars on top of acid drum loops to create a slow chugging sound), Boards of Canada, Slowdive, Eat Static, Roger Doyle and Ted Milton. Officer John isn’t intentionally recording with any kind of Balearic influence – just making melodic songs without worrying about anyone else’s reaction. Finally, and this is great news, he’s working on more music. 

In fact, as I write, I have unexpectedly stumbled upon a new Officer John track “These Days” – the first Officer John song to feature more than one word in it’s title – that’s just been released without any prior warning or fanfare. It’s a beautiful, downtempo, melancholy piece that, at 2 minutes and 19 seconds long, is gone way too soon. But true to form its a grower and I have already pressed the play button several times to allow the melody and bluesy guitar solo to sneak their way into my consciousness. 

Officer John operates under the radar so you may have to dig a little deeper but remember….great songs don’t always find you, sometimes you have to find them.

You can find “These Days”, and it’s predecessor “Onwards”, on Bandcamp. Wah Wah Wino are over here.