“The song was released the year I was born, in 1991. I remember hearing it when I was younger and feeling like it understood something I couldn’t explain yet. There’s a tension in that song that never resolves. It just sits there, quietly burning. R.E.M. created something very rare with it. It’s fragile, obsessive, and almost uncomfortable at times. That’s probably why it stayed with me for so long." - Max Colombie
Equally at home commanding the electric chaos of a Tomorrowland or a Pukkelpop, Rock Wretcher, Pinkpop or Lowlands Festival main stages Europe and the Middle East or stripping it all back for a hypnotic, late-night “campfire” moment, he doesn’t just perform, he possesses the room.
And now, consider this your official notice: he’s making his highly anticipated return to the United States this May, with stops in Los Angeles and New York. Prepare accordingly, emotionally, spiritually, and sartorially.
Born the same year as the release of the original song, it has quietly followed Max throughout his life, shaping his emotional and artistic sensibility long before he imagined reinterpreting it himself. Often seen as a song about obsession or the loss of faith, “Losing My Religion” takes on a deeper resonance today. For Max, it reflects a fragile tension between doubt and belief, admiration and emotional collapse.
Rather than recreating the original, Oscar and the Wolf approaches the song from a deeply intimate place. Recorded instinctively late at night in the studio, this stripped-back ballad version lets the tension breathe, transforming the iconic track into something fragile and exposed. Colombie’s voice sits close to the listener, carried by delicate orchestral textures that amplify the emotional gravity of the song. In the current world that feels loud, uncertain, and heavy, “Losing My Religion” becomes a moment of pause. A quiet reminder that beneath the noise, we are still just humans trying to make sense of love, doubt, and the fragile connections that define us.
"When we started playing around with the idea of covering it, I didn’t want to touch it unless it felt honest. The original is already perfect in its own way. The only thing that made sense was to approach it from a different emotional place. This version came together late at night in the studio, very instinctively. We stripped things down and let the tension breathe. I wanted it to feel intimate, almost like you're overhearing something you weren’t supposed to hear. Lately, the world feels heavy. There’s a lot of fear, a lot of noise, a lot of people forgetting how fragile everything actually is. Songs like this remind me that underneath all of that, we’re still just humans trying to make sense of our doubts, our love, our obsessions. It’s less about covering a song and more about sitting inside it for a moment. Because some songs belong to everyone. This one just happens to mean a lot to me.” - Max Colombie
Oscar and the Wolf live:
Sat 5.2 - Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex (here)
Sun 5.3 - Los Angeles, CA @ CORE Los Angeles (here)
Thu 5.7 - New York, NY @ Elsewhere (here)
Fri 6.26 - Tilburg, NL @ Spoorpark Live
Sun 7.19 - Boom, BE @ Tomorrowland (sold out)
Fri 7.24 - Boom, BE @ Tomorrowland (sold out)
Wed 8.5 - Lokeren, BE @ Lokerse Feesten
Fri 8.7 - Braine-le-Comte, BE @ Ronquieres Festival
All the VIDS! https://www.youtube.com/user/IdleHandsBlog
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