One Republic – Oh My My
F
or four long years OneRepublic fans such as myself have been anticipating their fourth album. During this time, we’ve just had to wait and watch frontman Ryan Tedder’s hair become more and more ridiculous.
After my first listen to the album I had mixed feelings; it was truly an emotional roller-coaster. I enjoyed the majority of the songs but the album as a whole didn’t have a clear sound. In Native, their previous album from 2012, the tracks flowed together, giving the band a signature indie feel. This album on the other hand has a whole mesh of genres that fit together like pickles on a hamburger: a lovely moist patty and soft bun only to be ruined by a sour piece of crap on top. (Although this may just be my opinion.) Of course, Ryan Tedder’s flawless falsetto is recognisable, but even that struggles to save the erratic experimentation of the percussion and auto-tune throughout this album that I found frustrating to say the least.
Lack of identity seems to be running theme
Unlike previous albums, Oh My My has more “modern” songs with hard bass-lines and rave vibes. The titular song ‘Oh My My ft. Cassius’ was pretty disappointing, with a groovy bass-line but very monotone vocal melody, I was confused what direction they’ were trying to go in. This lack of identity seems to be a running theme throughout this album. It’s as though Tedder has written so many songs for other artists he’s forgotten how to write for his own band. ‘Dream’ also had too much bass, as though someone accidentally leaned on the mixing board fader last minute. The bridge gets close to salvaging the song but is a total rip-off of ‘WAVES’ by Mr Probz.
These new dance tracks even include the shouty instructions that you’d expect to find in an Enrique Iglesias club classic, i.e. “C’mon!” and “Sing it again”. In my opinion this totally cheapens the songs so they just need to stop. Pls.
PLS.
In my opinion, the pre-released songs are much better, showcasing Tedder’s amazing voice and an actual melody. ‘A.I. feat. Peter Gabriel’ has bass doesn’t drown the vocals but instead gets easily stuck in your head, as Gabriel’s gravelly voice pairs beautifully with Tedder’s falsetto. ‘A.I.’ has a darker sound than we’re used to from OneRepublic, but it’s a refreshing change-up.
The benefit of there being such an array of genres on one album is that there’s something for everyone, but the downside is you can’t love, or even like, every track. I’ve been pretty harsh in this review so far because I love them so much and I know how amazing their previous albums have been. Like those words you dread to hear from your parents: “I’m not upset, I’m just disappointed”. Despite my disappointment, there are some great songs on this album. For the fans of Native there are a few gems including ‘Born’, ‘Choke’ and ‘All These Things’, all of which made me cry at first listen. If you preferred the band’s more mainstream hits, there’s ‘Let’s Hurt Tonight’, ‘Future Looks Good’ and ‘Kids’, all of which follow in the same kind of vein as ‘Counting Stars’ and ‘What You Wanted’.
Like those words you dread to hear from your parents: “I’m not upset, I’m just disappointed”
Overall, I do love this album and I highly recommend a listen so you can choose your favourites from the bunch. I’ll of course keep looking forward to new, hopefully less dance-y music for probably another four long years.
P.S. OneRepublic if you’re reading this then I’m only said those mean things about pickles because I love you. Also Ryan cut your hair. Thanks x
