OK GO is became famous for their prolific YouTube videos, and their latest release “Hungry Ghost” shows that they are just as creative when making new music.
In the last four years, much has changed about the band’s sound; they seem to have hopped on the electronic music bandwagon without leaving the taste of the typical EDM, which people have grown to love or hate.
The album implements electronic beats and sounds, and it feels like a dance album as soon as the first track “Upside Down & Inside Out” drops heavy beats that resemble music in a video game.
On this first track, the 8-bit sound is paired with choppy vocals from singer Damian Kulash.
“Don’t stop / Can’t stop / It’s like a freight train / Don’t stop / Can’t stop/ It’s like an airplane going down.” The lyrics are not simply sung, they are sliced into pieces repeating certain constants for emphasis.
The church bells that ring in “Bright As Your Eyes” keep syncopation throughout the song. The meter resembles an ominous hip-hop song.
Despite the somewhat bleak tone of the track, the lyrics are sweet; it compares the moonlight, stars and sunlight to the brightness of a lover’s eyes.
“I won’t let you down” resembles a disco song that is downright funky. The track oddly feels like a blend of Diana Ross’s track “I’m coming out” and tracks Daft Punk’s 2013 album Random Access Memories.
As a whole, the album is influenced by many genres; however, regardless of genre, every track on the album has a hint of synthesized music.
The shift in the band’s sound does not mean a complete departure from its previous music; tracks like “The Writing on the Wall,” “The One Moment” and “Lullaby” are sure to remind fans of past hits.
Looping jingles in “The Great Fire” strolls right along. It’s the longest track on the album and one of the most soothing.
While the song is calm, it is often invaded by casual jarring sounds that might be inconsistent with what the ear might expect.
The songs are generally about how relationships work; the main theme throughout is to appreciate the good connections and avoid the bad ones.
Kulash can be heard wailing some of these sentiments in “Another Set of Issues.”
Their latest release has had one music video, “Writings on the Wall,” which also doesn’t disappoint – they get more elaborate every time.
It’s surprising that this is the only music video that has been released for “Hungry Ghost.”
The band initially hit the treadmills and even marauded their way into people’s hearts with elaborate Rube Goldberg machines in music videos; they have slowed down the fun gimmicks and still managed to make great music.