OK Goodnight - "The Fox and the Bird"

This is no sophomore slump

This is an album I picked up by crawling review sites - Angry Metal Guy’s review of this one caught my eye, between the album name and artwork, so I read it. And they’re an up-and-coming prog metal act out of Boston (this is their second album), so I figured I just had to try it.

And OH MAN, the licks that they hit my ears with on the first track had me very eager for the rest of the album. And, spoiler, the rest of the album didn’t disappoint.

Throughout the album, OKG switches from electric to acoustic and back again, and in every mode, the instrumentation is tantalizing, technical, and diverse, often bringing in non-standard instruments like violin and piano, using a huge variety of sounds to paint scenes in the soundscape. And, floating above all of it, Casey Lee Williams’ vocals narrate the scene within the soundscape.

At least, in the lighter sections. In the heavier bits, her voice seems to clash a bit with the instrumentation. I’m not entirely sure what it is - maybe a rawness to the production making it sound a bit less polished? Maybe some composition issues that the band will figure out as they gain experience? No matter what it is, it doesn’t make it bad by any means - there’s just a noticeable dip in cohesion in the transition from “The Journey” to “The Snake” (tracks 4 & 5). But about the time when “The Bear” (track 9) starts up, the cohesion is back, even with the band in attack mode.

“Attack Mode” is incredibly proggy and djenty; spastic and technical in the style of Dream Theater over the last 15-20 years. When the band decides to go hard, they really don’t hold back.

There are only two tracks with harsh vocals fully in use (“The Bear” and “The Mountain”). In both cases, these are provided by guest vocalist Elizabeth Hull. These are fairly sparse, often limited to echo lines. And both tracks are among the best on the album.

I would love to find an interview with the band on this album. I haven’t (yet) cracked the metaphor(s) being used here, but the album feels very intentionally structured. And the whole thing is a great listen. That brief dip in quality hurts it slightly, but this is one of the best albums of the year so far.

Rating: Blue