“Here’s our new album, man. It doesn’t sound anything like the other two.”
“Not at all?”
“No way man, that would be derivative”
“What if no one likes it?”
“Be cool man, we’re OK Go… they’ll get it”
OK Go - Of the Blue Color of the Sky
Normally this kind of attitude would aggravate the hell out of me. Luckily, I’m used to OK Go experimenting with their sound. If you’re not, then you’ve only heard their singles.
No, even if you’ve only heard their singles you should know this. How in the world did this band churn out a top 40 pop hit like “Do What You Want” when EVERYBODY know they’re the guys who cranked out that awesome 90’s post-grunge hit “Get Over It.” Even then, there’s no WAY it’s the same band that dances around on their patio to “A Million Ways”
OK Go has always toyed with genres on their albums. It’s hard for me to sit and listen to an album in its entirety without thinking that I’ve accidentally put my iPhone on shuffle. Not that I don’t love it, because I do. Any band can be experimental, but only a good band can pull it off, and OK Go usually does.
Give a listen to “Return” off their first album, it’s great but you’d never hear it on the radio. Not because it’s bad, but because it won’t sell albums. OK Go is good at that too. Toss a few “radio friendly” hits on there and fill the rest with what you REALLY want to play. Think that’s selling out? The Beatles did it too. Any great band does. That’s how they make money folks, that’s how they gain new fans. Sgt. Pepper would have never happened if it weren’t for “Penny Lane” (even though they ended up not putting it on that album, it was originally recorded FOR it, then released as a single BEFORE it, and placed on an EP AFTER it. How’s that for an interesting factoid!).
So now here we are with a new OK Go album. I didn’t know what to expect exactly, but I was hoping for something good. The music industry NEEDS something good. I’ve heard the new OG Go album now, and well… It is what it is.
It’s not a BAD album in any way, but it’s lost something. Maybe the boys are getting old, or maybe they’ve found some peace in their lives or something, but this album doesn’t have the bite they used to have. All the songs are pretty mellow, and are belted out in that familiar drunken-lounge-singer-with-nothing-to-lose tone that they do so well. If you don’t like squeaky vocals, don’t get this album.
I shouldn’t be surprised, the album title itself sends a message of “ahh, well, that’s groovy then” so I should have expected a mellow album. I’m fine with that even, it’s just that… well… I miss the experimentation!
All the songs on the new album sound fairly similar. Again, this isn’t a game-killer but I just expected MORE from OK Go.
Maybe i’ve become jaded, expecting the music industry to finally wake up and release a good album commercially (I’m ignoring the indie scene simply because they’ve all gotten so damn pretentious).
::sigh:: a boy can dream, can’t he?
Overall it’s not a bad album at all. Worth a listen at least, so you can decide for yourself.
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