OK Go Dreams Of the Blue Colour of the Sky and Your Respect

Artist:  OK Go
Title:  Of the Blue Colour of the Sky
Label:  Capitol

YouTube's favorite rock band seeks audio cred …

In the eight years since OK Go's self-titled debut, the Chicago-bred act has become one of the most recognizable groups in modern music—but not because of how it sounds. When you mention OK Go to a loyal music buyer, the first two things that come to mind are videos and choreography. This isn't 'N Sync or the Backstreet Boys we're talking about; this is a modern rock band!

What gives? When OK Go released its sophomore album, Oh No, in 2005, the band filmed an adventuruous video for lead single, "A Million Ways." Presented as one continuous take, the clip showed OK Go's members performing intricate choreographed dance in their "back yard." Can you say internet sensation? The next year, the band unveiled another one-take music video, this time performing elaborate choreography on treadmills. The "Here It Goes Again" clip became such a phenom, it was parodied in an episode of "The Simpsons" and won the Grammy for "Best Short-Form Music Video."

When you combine the band's penchant for innovative videos with its reputation for extremely generic, albeit fun and danceable, rock songs, it's no wonder OK Go has something to prove with its new album. And while Of the Blue Colour of the Sky is hardly generic, the band once again fails to establish its own sound—this time thanks to seemingly non-stop genre-hopping. Produced by Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, MGMT), any given song could be new wave synth pop, industrial, funk, indie rock, R&B or a ballad, er, just to name a few. The good news? The songs, themselves, are imaginative, often memorable, and performed admirably.

The album's lyrics? Another matter entirely. With a lead single titled, "WTF?," it doesn't take a cyber geek to know what's coming. Ironically, the 13-song disc's only "F" bomb is dropped less than 20 seconds into the Prince-inspired track. (Vocalist/guitarist Damian Kulash keeps the Prince card handy for repeated use.) Sans the lyrical cameo by "h---" in the song "This Too Shall Pass," the rest of the album is a profanity-free zone. That said, the lustful mood-rocker "I Want You So Bad I Can't Breathe" and the cynical de-love song "Needing/Getting" further undermine the album's more uplifting expressions. The rhythm-guitar-based "All Is Not Lost" is one such moment amidst thematic musings about romance, futility and anger. All told, OK Go still remains the band that's better seen than heard.


**This review first published on February 24, 2010.