Album Review: Oh No Oh My - People Problems

Oh No Oh My formed way back in 2004 but ‘People Problems’ is surprisingly only their second full length album and an album that has seen them move forward, mature and really find their sound. This has clouded over the clean pop sensibilities and brought with it an angst and deeper more meaningful tracks that engage lyrically with intriguing narratives with a really musical progression and experimentation with an array of instruments.

‘Walking Into Me’ gives a first glimpse of this instrumentation, overlaying guitars with keyboards and subtle electronic sounds, ‘You Were Right’ brings with it the layering of vocals which create some tasty pop harmonies and appear to solidify Greg Barkley’s whimsical vocal delivery. ‘Again Again’ is an example of the bands lyrical darker side in a track about reaching down someone’s throat, a subject matter that while juxtaposed against some silky guitars and Greg’s bright delivery feels rather odd, along with ‘Brains’ which adds a tender edge to a car crash that eludes to rather graphic visuals.

However the whole album has an interesting way of dealing with its subject matter of car crashes and exactly what the title eludes to, people problems. Typically sombre lyrics are dealt a gloomy treatment musically but not in this case, ‘No Time For Talk’ is led heavily by keys and a slight fuzz and sizeable melodies while ‘I Don’t Know’ strips things back with an acoustic approach before building with some percussion and strings which towards the end feels like a band at its strongest instrumentally with everything clicking into place.

‘So I Took You’ deals you quite a shock when Greg’s vocals lose the whimsical and strengthen up which at the mid section delivers you into what feels like the second section of the album where vocally Greg really shines. Especially in ‘Not The One’ and ‘Circles And Carousels’ where the sound is stripped back, focusing more on this vocal delivery that eludes more to the emotive side of the lyrically content.

‘There Will Be Bones’ brings back this bands pop sensibilities along with ‘Should Not Have Come To This’ which capture the bands ability to write compelling melodies. ‘Summerdays’ brings the album to a close with great harmonies and a solid end to an album that delves in and out of different narratives throughout while giving you a chance to settle down into it by slowing the tempo down in parts and experimenting with different structures with each member playing more instruments than I could possibly remember. Wikipedia that if you don’t believe me.

4/5

‘People Problems’ by Oh No Oh My is released on 7th March via Moelleux.

Official Website
Oh No Oh My on MySpace, Twitter and Facebook.

Connor O’Brien