OK Go

Item: Oh No
Author: Christopher Thomas

Oh No

(2005)

Reviewed by Christopher Thomas

Discogs Apple Music TIDAL Amazon Music Spotify YouTube Music

Label Capitol RecordsDecapolisOctober 2005

indie rock power pop

Remember when you were a kid and your parents got you those Flintstones vitamins? They were so good, and it was so hard to stop after just one. They tasted just like candy! How could you stop when there was a whole bottle full right in front of you? But Mom and Dad said no, you can only have one a day. But sometimes, you - being the little master of espionage that you were - would sneak into the kitchen and fiddle with the childproof lid trying to pilfer a Fred or a Barney when Mom and Dad weren't looking. You would even settle for a Wilma if you could just get through that stupid cap!

And do you remember when you finally figured out that those little candies - the ones shaped like cartoon characters and tasted like fruity, sugary goodness - were actually GOOD for you? Holy cow! What a breakthrough! It was like eating vegetables but instead of vegetables IT WAS FREAKING CANDY!

OK Go's latest album, Oh No, is a lot like that. This record tastes just like candy. There's so much sugar here. It makes you want to sing, it makes you want to clap, and it certainly makes you want to dance. But somewhere within all the confectionery there is sustenance.

Fortified with intelligence and creativity, Oh No has the sweetness of major label pop with the integrity of an independent sensibility. The chord progressions, the song structures, and even the oh-so-sassy lyrics are the products of men whose musical vocabulary is probably far more vast than your typical pop band. Sonically, there are layers on top of layers, creating something much less manufactured and linear than other major label pop acts.

In comparison to their debut, this record is much less slick, a point that the band will quickly admit. And in addition to the thicker sonic tone, the songwriting is much, much stronger as well. The first album was similar in its style, but Oh No brings that style to a more tangible and mature place.

Don't make the mistake of writing this band off as one in the current batch of danceable pop bands just because they make you want to shake your booty. This band isn't just ear candy. They're ear vitamins.

Yes, I said "ear vitamins."