OU is the association of an American drummer exiled in Beijing, an exceptional Chinese guitarist and bassist, and a female singer, "Lynn Wu" with an outstanding vocal ability.
The band mix progressive, metal, atmospheric and many other things in a fascinating melting pot where it is as much possible to be confronted with an uncontained aggressiveness ('Prejudice') as to lose oneself in ethereal and contemplative ambiences ('Euphoria'). Eight tracks in the form of a staggering and sidereal journey, initiatory and intimate, where four musicians redraw the contours of the world map, blurring the influences and directions to offer a new view on the musical labyrinth of genres and styles.
'Travel' opens the album and shows the way, between heady riffs, lead rhythmic and especially this voice at the same time powerful and fragile, real elusive sea serpent. Almost opera-like ('Farewell'), whispering like water ('Light'), Lynn Wu's voice becomes a howling or charming siren on each inflection, reaching improbable notes or slipping between the complex melodies and the elaborate rhythms of the rest of the combo.
The Chinese lyrics seem to speak of life in another solar system, just as the vocal swirls combined with the sonic exactions of the three seasoned musicians where it is possible to make cohabit demanding rhythms ('Mountain') and tracks of infinite softness ('Ghost', that Dhafer Youssef, another siren of another world, would not disavow), or even to melt them in a single feeling ('Euphoria').
"One" is only a doorway to a larger universe, made in China.