OH WONDER - "ULTRALIFE"
OH WONDER RELEASE FOLLOW-UP ALBUM TO DEBUT ALBUM
OH WONDER - "ULTRALIFE" - RELEASED 14TH JULY 2017
★★★★☆
Initially formed as a songwriting project back in 2014, Oh Wonder’s Josephine Vander Gucht and Anthony West perhaps had no idea of the success that posting several songs on SoundCloud could bring them. Flash forward three years, one self-titled debut album and an extensive world tour later, the alt-pop duo are back with their second album entitled ‘Ultralife’. Recorded and released in a more conventional manner to their debut (which was released one song at a time over the period of a year), ‘Ultralife’ feels like a more fleshed out release: it sounds like the major label backing and the bigger production budget that comes with it has had a major benefit, rather than the home studio feel of their first album.
The album opens with the overlapped sound of traffic from both London and New York: the two locations where the album was written, recorded and produced. ‘Solo’ is a sombre account of feeling isolated at a house party, which leads into the bombastic optimism of the album’s eponymous lead single ‘Ultralife’. This track alone is a joy to listen to. Two of the other singles follow in quick succession - ‘Lifetimes’ and ‘High on Humans’ - which particularly showcase the duo’s ability to use production to serve the songwriting, rather than vice versa. The use of sampling in ‘High on Humans’ definitely adds a unique catchiness to the refrain.
An angry, but melancholic tone is present throughout ‘All About You’, the lyrics directly addressing those who don’t use their money and power for the greater good in society. The first half concludes with ‘Heavy’, a thumper of a synthpop track driven by pulsing chords and a relentless rhythm section.
The second half of ‘Ultralife’ definitely takes a more minimal and experimental turn. ‘Bigger than Love’ would have been a good fit on their debut, however for me at least the vocal melodies sound a bit too familiar to a couple of Calvin Harris and Rihanna collaborations. ‘Heartstrings’ is a more soulful pop track complete with brief piano solo in the outro chorus, while ‘Slip Away’ returns to a more stripped back texture of subtle synth arpeggios underlying shuffling beats and reverberated guitars, not unlike the xx. ‘Overgrown’ could potentially become a live favourite and for me is one of the standouts on the album.
The album ends with ‘My Friends’ and ‘Waste’: both of these tracks capturing how ethereal Oh Wonder’s music can be. The ballad ‘My Friends’ is the duo’s musical plea to their friends and family to not forget them when they are on tour, and is executed beautifully. ‘Waste’ is a surprisingly downbeat song to end an otherwise optimistic record: the underlying repetitive textures suddenly cut out to expose Vander Gucht’s and West’s voices - ‘What a waste to be so alone’.
Oh Wonder have crafted an album that sounds bigger and more cohesive than their debut, yet retains the trademark vocals and other formulas that have brought them acclaim. The production does occasionally sound very cluttered, particularly in the busier sections of ‘Ultralife’ and ‘Heavy’, however it is not ultimately enough to be a major distraction to the listener.
Despite Oh Wonder currently embarking on a major world tour in support of ‘Ultralife’, so far the set is still heavily reliant on the debut album: only ‘Ultralife’, ‘Heavy’, ‘High on Humans’ and ‘Lifetimes’ have been exhibited to audiences so far. However as the tour ramps up to appearances at Reading and Leeds Festivals; a run of North American shows and a tour of the UK and Europe, no doubt we will see deeper cuts from the album get their live premiere
OH WONDER'S UPCOMING TOUR DATES:
18 AUGUST - PUKKELPOP FESTIVAL 2017 - HASSELT, BELGIUM
19 AUGUST - DOCKVILLE FESTIVAL 2017 - HAMBURG, GERMANY
25 AUGUST - READING FESTIVAL 2017 - READING, UK
26 AUGUST - LEEDS FESTIVAL 2017 - LEEDS, UK
06 SEPTEMBER - MALKIN BOWL - VANCOUVER, CANADA
08 SEPTEMBER - WINDSPEAR CENTRE - EDMONTON, CANADA
09 SEPTEMBER - MACEWAN HALL - CALGARY, CANADA
11 SEPTEMBER - THE GARRICK - WINNIPEG, CANADA
12 SEPTEMBER - FIRST AVENUE - MINNEAPOLIS, USA
13 SEPTEMBER - TURNER HALL BALLROOM - MILWAUKEE, USA
15 SEPTEMBER - THE VIC THEATRE - CHICAGO, USA
16 SEPTEMBER - MUSIC MIDTOWN - ATLANTA, USA
18 SEPTEMBER - DANFORTH MUSIC HALL - TORONTO, CANADA
19 SEPTEMBER - DANFORTH MUSIC HALL - TORONTO, CANADA
20 SEPTEMBER - DANFORTH MUSIC HALL - TORONTO, CANADA
21 SEPTEMBER - METROPOLIS - MONTREAL, CANADA
22 SEPTEMBER - HOUSE OF BLUES - BOSTON, USA
23 SEPTEMBER - COLLEGE STREET MUSIC HALL - NEW HEAVEN, USA
26 SEPTEMBER - BROOKLYN STEEL - BROOKLYN, USA
27 SEPTEMBER - BROOKLYN STEEL - BROOKLYN, USA
29 SEPTEMBER - THE FILLMORE - PHILADELPHIA, USA
30 SEPTEMBER - MR SMALL'S THEATRE - PITTSBURGH, USA
02 OCTOBER - 9:30 CLUB - WASHINGTON, D.C, USA
04 OCTOBER - THE NATIONAL - RICHMOND, USA
06 OCTOBER - THE NEIGHBORHOOD THEATRE - CHARLOTTE, USA
07 OCTOBER - BIJOU THEATRE - KNOXVILLE, USA
08 OCTOBER - IRON CITY - BIRMINGHAM, USA
10 OCTOBER - HOUSE OF BLUES - DALLAS, USA
11 OCTOBER - STUBB'S BBQ - AUSTIN, USA
13 OCTOBER - TRICKY FALL - SEL PASO, USA
14 OCTOBER - THE VAN BUREN - PHOENIX, USA
15 OCTOBER - SOMA - SAN DIEGO, USA
18 OCTOBER - SHRINE EXPO HALL - LOS ANGELES, USA
19 OCTOBER - THE FOX THEATRE - OAKLAND, USA
21 OCTOBER - CRYSTAL BALLROOM - PORTLAND, USA
22 OCTOBER - MOORE THEATRE - SEATTLE, USA
31 OCTOBER - MANCHESTER ACADEMY - MANCHESTER, UK
01 NOVEMBER - THE ACADEMY - DUBLIN, IRELAND
02 NOVEMBER - QMU - GLASGOW, UK
04 NOVEMBER - O2 INSTITUTE - BIRMINGHAM, UK
05 NOVEMBER - UEA - NORWICH, UK
07 NOVEMBER - O2 ACADEMY - BRISTOL, UK
08 NOVEMBER - O2 ACADEMY BRIXTON - LONDON, UK
09 NOVEMBER - LA TRABENDO - PARIS, FRANCE
11 NOVEMBER - SCHLACHTHOF - WIESBADEN - GERMANY
12 NOVEMBER - DEN ATELIER - LUXEMBOURG, LUXEMBOURG
13 NOVEMBER - LIVE MUSIC HALL - COLOGNE, GERMANY
15 NOVEMBER - CIRCOLO MAGNOLIA - MILAN, ITLAY
16 NOVEMBER - BOGEN - ZURCIH, SWITZERLAND
17 NOVEMBER - THEATER FABRICK - MUNICH, GERMANY
19 NOVEMBER - ROXY - PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
20 NOVEMBER - GRELLE FORELLE - VIENNA, AUSTRIA
21 NOVEMBER - KWADRAT - KRAKOW, POLAND
23 NOVEMBER - PALLADIUM - WARSAW, POLAND
24 NOVEMBER - HALA NR 2 MTP - POZNAN, POLAND
25 NOVEMBER - HUXLEYS - BERLIN, GERMANY
27 NOVEMBER - VEGA - COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
28 NOVEMBER - DEBASER STRAND - STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
29 NOVEMBER - PARK TEATRET - OSLO, NORWAY
01 DECEMBER - DOCK - SHAMBURG, GERMANY
02 DECEMBER - PARADISO - AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
03 DECEMBER - PARADISO - AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
06 DECEMBER - YOTA SPACE - MOSCOW, RUSSIA
07 DECEMBER - AURORA HALL - ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA
12 DECEMBER - ANCIENNE BELGIQUE - BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
13 DECEMBER - DYNAMO - ZURICH, SWITZERLAND