In the Randomised Record series, I take us both on an adventure to (re)discover my record collection. Fate decides: whether it be that obscure grunge album I bought recently or that emo rap record from 2017. Nothing is safe from the hands of the randomiser! I will listen to the entire album and highlight my favourite song off of it here on the blog. Do I still enjoy my records as much as when I bought ‘em? Let’s find out. Today, episode 3: ‘Olympic Ayres’ (2014) by Olympic Ayres.

Not only do I own a load of vinyl, I also have a fair share of CDs being part of my collection. I usually only tend to buy CDs when it’s simply impossible to buy a vinyl copy due to there either being none in existence or them being so ridiculously rare or expensive, I will most likely never own one. Today’s Randomised Record happens to be one of the roughly 80 CDs in my collection and it’s one with a fun story, too! Australian indie duo Olympic Ayres only ever released one physical version of any of their music, being a Japanese CD release of their debut album ‘Olympic Ayres’ (2014). I managed to get my hands on it by purchasing it on Discogs back in November 2020.

So, why did I buy this album, which by the way is more like a collection of previously released songs than an actual album (but more on that later)? Well, about 10 years ago, I was quite obsessed with Olympic Ayres’s song ‘Magic’, a tune featured in the football video game FIFA 14. I played this song over and over again on my beloved iPod Classic and quickly after I discovered ‘Magic’ I downloaded the rest of this band’s discography. Before I knew it, I found myself listening to each song that Olympic Ayres had ever released every minute of the day. That discography wasn’t all too big, anyways. As of 2025, this band has only released 4 EP’s from which the first 3 carry the uninspiring titles ‘Episode I’ (2011), ‘Episode II’ (2012), and ‘Episode III’ (2013), with ‘Leisureplex’ (2014) being their most recent extended play. Singles ‘Waiting’ (2019) and ‘Planet Us’ (2020) came somewhat as a surprise, but that’s all there is to find of Olympic Ayres. All songs on their untitled album are featured on the aforementioned 4 EPs, which makes me doubt calling this a ‘debut album’ is actually worth it.

Playing this CD now is probably the first time in about 4 years that it has been given a spin in the Jam of Today household. Much to my surprise, I still know all the words to it, too! I do have to say, each and every song sounds super dated. It’s got that 2014 indie vibe through and through which is nice for nostalgic purposes, but just doesn’t sound well anymore in 2025. That said, with Olympic Ayres sounding similar to so many other bands, it’s a bit surprising they never broke through in Europe, even though every single song sounds like it’s taken straight from a commercial or a copyright free hotel lobby vibes-collection. Well, either way, it’s a nice throwback to the times I adored these songs! Next to ‘Magic’, ‘Control’ was probably my #1 song by Olympic Ayres. It certainly brings back a whole lot of memories listening to these tunes again!