“Oh Wonder” Album Brings Up Wonderous Emotions
Infamous for selling out since their first performance in London at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in September 2015, London based duo Oh Wonder, is hitting the ground running.
Anthony West and Josephine Vander Gucht produce a mellow, R&B, keyboard/drum based alternative sound. The duo promised to write, record and release one song a month for a year starting in September 2014.
They finished the year with their do-it-yourself album, self named “Oh Wonder,” after signing with Republic Records. The band self-claimed their fame with their viral online streams.
In 2015, Oh Wonder was the second most blogged about band in the world. With 15 songs on the album, West and Gucht do a fabulous job at making each song original and intriguing. Due to the fact most songs on the album were written, recorded and released in one month, I am astonished I wanted to download all the songs on my iTunes library.
Their first single released, “Body Gold,” is the type of song you would see edited over a GoPro video of a crowd of girls wearing flower crowns dancing at a music festival. In my opinion, songs with this feel are the best way to get a band’s name out in this generation.
My favorite track is “Landslide,” which was their 10th single to be released. This song truly intoxicates me. Being the avid indie-pop and alternative music listener that I am, I live for songs that embody the quote “music sooths the soul,” which this song does ravishingly.
Josephine has a sweet but powerful sound to her voice. She mends perfectly with West’s mellow voice and overpowers him to the perfect extent without drowning him out. I praise the two for finding a perfect medium.
When I first heard “Whiteblood,” I instantly thought of the alternative England based artist, Birdy. However, iTunes compares Oh Wonder to The xx and The Weepies because of their shared alternative, R&B, indie-pop, and electropop genre.
Oh Wonder is making its way to to a handful of states in North America, including both Bonnaroo and Firefly music festivals. I would die to see this band at The Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado on July 21, 2016.
“Drive” is another song that brought up a lot of emotions for me. The majority of the album made me want to pitch up my ENO hammock by a lake and find my bliss while listening to it. Every song made me feel at peace, almost like the songs were made specifically for my life.
The album seems to be somewhat of a break-up album, which is a relatable concept. Even though I’m not currently going through a breakup, the songs dredge up past feelings. “Oh Wonder” steers my thoughts of my heavy heart toward my past relationship with the most tranquil approach that I am left grateful for.
The Duo appeared on the television show “Conan” this month and performed “Lose It,” which is the last song that stood out to me on a personal level. This is the kind of song I would listen to while walking around at night after a long day in my Michael Kors heels and black trench coat.
Oh Wonder’s album reached No. 26 in the Official UK Charts, No. 16 in Canadian charts and No. 80 in the United States Billboard. Hopefully, for my want of them to tour in Michigan, they will become more popular in North America. I am officially a fan of Gucht’s and West’s work and I adore the “Oh Wonder” album. I would rate this album a 10/10.
This album review is brought to you by the Western Herald. Link to original:
http://www.westernherald.com/arts_and_entertainment/article_367124ce-c88d-11e5-8619-6f65a5112c2e.html
