On
Ringo Starr's 1973 ditty "Oh My My," the
Beatle challenged listeners with "Can you move? Can you slide? You can boogie if you try." On
OneRepublic's fourth outing of the same name, there's plenty of boogie to inspire even the heaviest of hearts. The band hasn't broken stride following its 2013 hit album
Native -- which went platinum in eight countries and spawned no less than six hit singles -- continuing an unstoppable flow of bright anthems designed to comfort and uplift. The
Native world tour would set the stage for the creation of
Oh My My, which was written and recorded all over the globe. London, São Paolo, Paris, Berlin, Tokyo, Mexico City, Sydney, Reykjavik, Milan, Stockholm, Istanbul, Toronto, Jerusalem, and Moscow were just some of the locales where
Oh My My came to life, the settings inspiring
Ryan Tedder and the band -- Zach Filkins,
Drew Brown,
Brent Kutzle, and Eddie Fisher -- as much as the fans they met on the journey.
Tedder's knack for synthesizing the sounds of whatever is popular at the moment and turning them into huge, easily digestible tunes seems to have only improved. Much like
Sia,
Tedder seemingly snaps his fingers and hits appear, so many that they can afford to share them with other artists or keep them for their own projects. As such,
Oh My My continues the trend of
OneRepublic albums sounding like singles collections rather than one cohesive concept. It's a grand pop album from a proficient rock band, similar to contemporaneous albums by
Coldplay,
Maroon 5,
Kaiser Chiefs, and
Paper Route. As usual, if a couple songs were relegated to the bonus deluxe version, the overall flow of the album would be much stronger. However, the sheer number of highlights remains undeniable. "Kids" might be the greatest song that
Tedder has penned thus far (apologies, "Counting Stars"), delivering an almost unbearably rousing chorus that overwhelms with its power and joy. "Future Looks Good" sparkles with embellishments found on
Coldplay's
A Head Full of Dreams, while "Oh My My" struts with a funky disco bassline provided by French duo
Cassius. Other notable guests include
Santigold on "NbHD" and one of
Tedder's biggest inspirations,
Peter Gabriel, on the '80s synth jam "A.I." There are only a few breaks in the boogie, with drama provided by a choir on the
Sam Smith-channeling "Choke" and the airy piano ballad "Fingertips," which features
the xx's Romy Madley Croft. Overall,
Oh My My is another solid record from a group led by one of the best songwriters of a generation. ~ Neil Z. Yeung