Oscar and the Wolf

The Belgian musician Max Colombie has channeled a wide array of styles through his solo vehicle Oscar and the Wolf, moving across indie folk, dream pop, and refined electronic pop over successive phases of his output. Several early EPs laid the groundwork before his debut full-length Entity reached the summit of the Belgian pop charts in 2014. Follow-up albums Infinity and The Shimmer, issued in 2017 and 2021 respectively, duplicated that peak position. The 2022 single Warrior delivered another major commercial triumph at number one, after which he issued the atmospheric All Night alongside producer Maceo Plex. He opened 2024 with the uplifting track Angel Face.

Colombie introduced Oscar and the Wolf in 2010, initially presenting it as a folk-leaning group patterned after Fleet Foxes and Bon Iver. The project’s opening EP Imagine Mountains led to a contract with PIAS Records and the release of Summer Skin in 2012, which leaned further into hazy guitar pop. By assuming primary production duties, Colombie shifted the sonic identity again on the darker 2014 album Entity, repositioning Oscar and the Wolf as a brooding indie electronic act. The change connected strongly with listeners, yielding double-platinum certification and a Belgian chart-topping debut.

In the two years that followed, he strengthened his concert profile by supporting Róisín Murphy on a wide-ranging European trek and then headlining sold-out performances in Antwerp and Amsterdam. His second album Infinity retained the atmospheric approach of its predecessor and matched its success, climbing to number one behind the hit single Breathing. Following a four-year interval, he resurfaced in April 2021 with the sultry, driving single James. Additional tracks Oliver and Livestream paved the way for the album The Shimmer, whose title references Alex Garland’s 2018 science-fiction film Annihilation. The release secured his third consecutive Belgian number-one album. September 2022 brought Warrior, his first single to claim the top chart position, followed by the noir-tinged All Night in partnership with Spanish house producer Maceo Plex. His subsequent single Angel Face appeared in early 2024 and reached the Top Ten.