Oswald Slain return with raw alt-rock single Hot Boys
ahead of New York showcase
Music Review | 10th March, 2026
If you’ve been keeping an ear to the underground alt-rock scene lately, chances are Oswald Slain has already popped up on your radar. The band, fronted by vocalist and lyricist Charlie Fitzgerald alongside co-founder Rhii Williams, emerged in late 2024 after the duo decided to shed their former skin as Little Thief and start fresh with a new creative direction.
Since the rebrand, Oswald Slain hasn’t exactly been taking it slow. They’ve already dropped their debut single Happiness Is Overrated
, followed it up with an EP, and then went all in with a full-length album, BUCKY
. Not bad for a band that technically only just reinvented itself. And now, rather than catching their breath, they’re back with a brand new single: Hot Boys.
At its core, Oswald Slain feels like a project born out of the quiet chaos of a home studio. Fitzgerald has been writing and recording during a period of reflection - looking back on the reckless blur of youth while staring down the weird realities of getting older. The result is music that feels both self-aware and scrappy: gritty alternative rock with Americana dust on its boots and the swagger of old-school retro rock records.
Their latest track, Hot Boys
, leans hard into that attitude. It’s raw, loose, and gloriously unpolished, think Bowie-meets-Iggy Pop energy filtered through a sticky-floored pub-rock jam. Choppy guitar lines and ragged piano keep the whole thing moving while Fitzgerald’s vocals cut through with the kind of sarcastic charm he’s quickly becoming known for. Lyrically, it’s classic Fitz: sharp, funny, and a little bit self-destructive.
The song plays like a tongue-in-cheek anthem for the gloriously delusional, part sleazy rock number, part warped self-help mantra.
As Fitzgerald puts it:
Sometimes I imagine myself to be incredibly attractive, funny, smart, rich and successful all at the same time, but ultimately, I'm just a worm, sat at the kitchen table, eating apples, smoking cigarettes and waiting for reality to kick in.
Hot Boys is a glorified bombardment self-help summer bop inspired by the constant gloating of pills, potions and perfection I was being advertised while doom-scrolling on the toilet. It's upbeat, fun, chaotic, cheap, poncy and brags like a snotty child in the playground of adulthood.
If that description sounds chaotic...well, that’s kind of the point. The whole thing was recorded in February and is already landing in March, something Fitzgerald himself seems mildly shocked by.
It was recorded in February and it's coming out in March. That's kinda mad. I didn't even think that was possible. Anything's possible. Do whatever you want. There are no rules.
The single also arrives just as the band gears up for a major milestone: their first trip to the U.S. Oswald Slain will be heading to New York City for the New Colossus
showcase festival, where they’ll play three sets across Manhattan’s Lower East Side.
Not bad for a band that only just changed its name.
If Hot Boys
is any indication, Oswald Slain isn’t interested in slowing down anytime soon - and honestly, that chaotic momentum might be exactly what makes them so fun to watch right now.
The single, Hot Boys, is available through all streaming platforms.
Photo Credit: Oswald Slain
