Notofu.com: OK Go
Published by: Notofu.com
Date: January 25, 2010
Format: Web (www.notofu.com)
Type: Music Review
OK Go – Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky
Of the Blue Colour of the Sky is the first full-length studio album from OK Go since 2005’s Oh No, which catapulted the Chicago-bred, LA-based band into Youtube stardom (with nearly 50 million views of their choreographed treadmill dancing video for “Here It Goes Again”), which then made the band one of the most commercially successful to come out of the last decade.
Previously, the band relied on layers and layers of pop hooks, but with Of the Blue Colour of the Sky, OK Go is taking more risks, having produced a record that is a little more inventive, a little less radio-ready and a lot funkier than its predecessor. This latest effort is based on rhythm, big grooves and is heavily influenced by Prince’s sexy, dancy, falcetto style. There is also an open, airy feeling that wasn’t present in OK Go’s previous releases, a direct result of Dave Friedman’s (The Flaming Lips, MGMT) production work.
The record begins with “WTF?,” a track that sets the tone for the band’s new experimentation. A thick, fuzz-laden synth opens and carries with it a sense of toughness along with steady “Bullet The Blue Sky” inspired drumming. Unfortunately, a large part of what made Larry Mullen, Jr.’s beat so iconic was the signature drum tones that were captured on that recording. Here, Dan Konopka’s drums fall a little flat and even tend to become a little lost behind the in-your-face synth sounds. There are moments throughout Of the Blue Colour of the Sky, such as in the album’s first single and second track, “This Too Shall Pass,” where things begin to sound eerily similar with layering and Friedman’s technique of adding distortion to everything, from the guitars and synths, to the drums and the vocals and all instruments in between. By the fourth track, “Skyscrapers,” the listener’s ear are given a bit of a break, with the smooth, sultry sounds of Damian Kulash’s falcetto lead vocals and a track that goes easy on the instrumentation with a simple beat and minimal guitars and keys. The rest of the record follows this example, bouncing back and forth between loud, in your face tracks and soft, nuanced little songs.
In the end, its nice to see a band that has already seen loads of pop success come out and try something new. The only problem is that you’ve heard it before and you can get better versions of it by listening to records that have already been released by Prince and The Flaming Lips.
3/5