Often Wrong Find Their Voice In Vancouver’s DIY Scene
Often Wrong. Photo credit: Mungo Dulmage.
When Often Wrong frontperson Oscar McManus started university in Vancouver, they didn’t have a band yet, just a deep desire to make one. “The first week of university, I put up posters all around campus asking if anyone wanted to make a band,” McManus recalls. “It started off kind of shoegaze-y, but as my interests shifted, it turned into more of a screamo-emo-noise rock thing.”
That slow transformation built the foundation for The Figs Are Starting to Rot, Often Wrong’s debut EP and one of Vancouver’s most quietly powerful underground releases this year. Rooted in the dynamic tension between fragility and noise, the record channels the lineage of Slint, Unwound, and mewithoutYou while maintaining a scrappy DIY charm. “Someone told us we sounded like Unwound,” McManus laughs. “I hadn’t heard them before, but once I did, I fell completely in love. That really pushed me in that direction.”
In the past few years, Vancouver’s independent scene has blossomed into a network of shoegaze, emo, and experimental acts finding their footing together. “My favourite band in the scene is Computer,” McManus says. “Their stage presence is incredible, and they’re touring Europe right now, which is wild. Emma Goldman are amazing too, and PISS are doing huge things, it’s crazy to see bands that used to play to twenty people now playing in Europe.”
For McManus, community came first. Before Often Wrong existed, a flyer spotted outside Neptune Records—one of Vancouver’s most beloved record stores—changed everything. “It was for a drummer wanted, with influences like Joy Division and Black Country, New Road. I wasn’t a drummer, but I reached out anyway,” McManus says. That connection led to friendships with members of Computer and deeper involvement in the city’s DIY circuit. “I live near Rufus Guitars, and Ben from Computer and Cherry from cherry pick both work there, so I’m always just popping in and saying hey. It’s such a positive and welcoming scene. Everyone’s friends with each other.”
That community spirit will be on display November 29 at Green Auto, where Often Wrong headline their EP release show with Computer, Scarlet Fever, and cherry pick. “It’s one of the best venues,” McManus says. “The pop-up stage has this wild DIY feel. It’s literally where they store all the green screens, but the sound is great and it’s organized. You never have to wonder if the show’s actually happening.”
The EP’s title, The Figs Are Starting to Rot, borrows from Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, where the protagonist freezes before a tree of ripening fruit, paralyzed by choice until everything falls away. “That image really stuck with me,” McManus explains. “It’s about being young and feeling overwhelmed by all the paths you could take. I love music, but I’m also studying international relations, and those worlds can clash. It’s hard not to feel like you’re wasting time, but music helps me process that.”
That duality—tenderness and tension—threads through Often Wrong’s sound. Songs slip between introspective spoken word and urgent screamo, like the softly building “Your Tailor,” which borrows inspiration from Franz Kafka’s The Trial. “I wanted to capture that kind of disorienting environment, where things don’t make sense,” McManus shares. “The verses are melodic, like Mineral or Braid, and then the choruses explode.”
For all its emotional depth, The Figs Are Starting to Rot is a fully DIY effort—recorded live in McManus’ basement with help from their dad. “He was in a few bands and has a great setup,” he says. The result sounds anything but homemade, carrying the warmth and immediacy of a band who know each other’s instincts. “I’m doing a zine to go with the CD,” McManus adds. “It’s all collage—old photos of my dad, lyrics, fragments. I wouldn’t have been able to make this music without him, so it’s kind of a tribute.”
The lineup has shifted since recording, but the project continues with new collaborators and a full-length album on the horizon. “I’ve been writing music since I was fifteen,” McManus says. “I have tons of acoustic demos—Elliott Smith is my favourite artist—and I just recycle ideas until something finally feels right. I’m hoping to record an album next spring.”
Through it all, Often Wrong’s ethos remains rooted in feeling and friendship rather than perfectionism. “At the end of the day, I’m just a 19-year-old college student,” McManus laughs. “These songs are about isolation and confusion, but they’re also about realizing it’s going to be okay. The figs might rot, but that’s just part of life.”
Often Wrong’s EP Release show is November 29th with Scarlet Fever, cherry pick and Computer at Green Auto in Vancouver, BC. Their EP The Figs Are Starting to Rot is out everywhere on November 28th, 2025.
