The Options

**The Options** are a scrappy DIY indie duo from the UK, known for their lo-fi charm and genre-blurring sound that stitches together punk energy, synth-pop hooks, and wry lyrical wit. Formed in the early 2000s by Sam Smith (of **mechanical owl**) and collaborator Matt, the pair built a cult following through self-released cassettes, vinyl, and Bandcamp drops—like the cheekily titled *Romance Is Bullshit* and the restless *A Sweat and Crumble Music Plea*. Their music often feels like a time capsule of basement shows and late-night existential musings, balancing raw guitar riffs with glitchy electronic beats.

With releases like *Shouts from a Vacant Opera House* and *Walk the Compound*, The Options lean into their reputation for crafting compact, chaotic anthems that poke at modern anxieties and mundane absurdities. They’ve stayed fiercely independent, often collaborating with fellow underground artists and avoiding mainstream circuits in favor of intimate, sweat-soaked gigs. Whether channeling post-punk urgency or synth-driven melancholy, their work remains a love letter to DIY ethos—unpolished, unpredictable, and unapologetically human.

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