Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky

There are more detours, from austere acoustic avenues to vocodered pop to '80s disco, to fill you with hope for the next decade's offerings. [Feb 2010, p.94]

Without a doubt, this is all a lot to swallow, especially for long time fans of the band. Pure pop escapism this isn't, but as proof-positive that a band can evolve into legitimate artists without resorting to navel-gazing, it's wholly triumphant.

Fridmann's production has given the band a whole new environment in which to play, and they've had their fun whilst making great, powerful music in the process.

Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky displays that Damian Kulash and co are perfectly capable of writing more grown-up, experimental material.

It's not oblivious as what Fridmann's achieved with Flaming Lips and MGMT, but OK's new found raunchiness is still dreamy, and Kulash manages genuine soul-boy vocal points through the angular groove of "WTF?" and the sweetly-swaying bump of "White Kniuckles." [Holiday 2009, p.95]

The set careens confidently from the Prince-inspired fuzz-funk of opener "WTF?" to the slinky live-band R&B of "I Want You So Bad I Can't Breathe" to "This Too Shall Pass," a thudding psych-pop anthem in the mold of "Kids" by MGMT. It's not all so good-naturedly goofy.

The foursome collaborates with Flaming Lips producer Dave Fridmann for some trippy soul-tinged rock experiments that make for a fascinating if somewhat hit-or-miss listen.

Unlike Beck during his purple-paisley "Midnite Vultures" phase, Damian Kulash employs a soul-freak falsetto that's sincerely accurate, and with the help of Lips producer David Fridmann, he and his power-pop pals master the Okie pranksters' baroque whirls.

Bursting with promise, OK are more than their name suggests.

The band’s lack of a defining musical style has proven an advantage here, as frontman Damian Kulash and co. were clearly able to explore their boundaries, unconfined by audience expectations.

He's better at riding the power-pop rainbow of ''All Is Not Lost,'' a sing-along for hipsters who remember how to party unironically.

It's mostly a psychedelic, smarty-pants dance party; no gym machines necessary.

There is still much to work on for OK Go, but at the very least, the progression on display this time around is rather admirable.

As it stands, Blue Colour is no more than a better-than-average paean to '80s-era Prince by a band that has yet to find its voice.

They resisted the temptation to knock out another collection of power pop and instead hibernated for a few years, eventually teaming up with Dave Fridmann--a former member of Mercury Rev best known for his production work with the Flaming Lips--with the intention of reinvention, resulting in the mildly bewildering Of the Blue Colour of the Sky.

They clearly asked Dave Fridmann to produce for his MGMT work rather than his exploratory Mercury Rev backstory. It's well, OK. [Mar 2010, p.90]

Ultimately over-long, Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky is still a preconception-changing album. [Mar 2010, p.100]

It just feels like all the wacky studio noise takes away from what could have been a really fun album.

Overall, it’s tough to tell what the band was thinking here. If their intention was to branch out, they’ve done it, but the songwriting quality has definitely suffered.

All 13 of the tracks here sound nothing like their much parodied clip. It’s just that sadly, branching out isn’t a good thing for them.