Initially leaping to fame for their admittedly impressive antics on some treadmills during their video for breakthrough single ‘Here It Goes Again,’ OK Go seemed to be the saviours of the geek rock genre and primed to replace Weezer in the affections of a generation of college kids. Due to a variety of reasons though, the band never capitalised on the success of the song and went back to being the eternal square pegs in a round hole.
Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky sees the band embrace their Prince and MGMT influences with gusto, taking any opportunity whatsoever to ape pop’s naughty gnome. Calypso guitars, gang vocals, slap bass and Glitter band backbeats are the order of the day (‘White Knuckles,’ ‘All Is Not Lost’), and while they’re pleasant enough, the best track on the record by far is the folksy ‘Last Leaf.’ The acoustic song sounds almost awkward hidden in among all the electro-pop but it seems to sum up the band perfectly. While we’re sure that some of the songs on Of The Blue Colour… will enjoy life scoring a multitude of teen comedies in the future, it may be that once again OK Go have dropped the ball. But then what else could we expect from a handful of nerds?
Key Track: ‘Last Leaf’