O's - We are the O's

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 24 / 10 / 2009

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Review

Way back in 2002 an album by a band called Slick 57 arrived with little fanfare but with a lot of catchy, hook-filled songs that defied categorisation. The band seamlessly combined many genres to produce a refreshing sound of their own. So, on discovering that one of the duo that make up the O’s is Slick 57 main man John Pedigo, the feeling that ‘We are the O’s’ was going to be at least an interesting ride was the first thought that came to mind. Those thoughts were well-founded. For those who have spent many hours listening to Slick 57 the laziest way to describe the eleven original songs here is to say that the O’s are a more countrified Slick 57 who drench all their songs in banjo, acoustic guitars and kick-drum. Almost any of the songs featured on ‘We are the O’s’ could have been taken from the Slick 57 ‘Ghost Of Bonnie Parker’ album ; those catchy melodies and emotive vocals are all still present and correct but this time stripping the sound down so that, for the most part, that banjo takes centre stage was an inspired idea. While the O’s are not the only band creating this bluegrass / pop / folk sound at the moment they are doing it so much better than the competition. For a start they have the songs. Half way through the album, ‘We’ve Had Everything’ shows just how talented this duo of Pedigo and Taylor Young is. One of their trademark catchy melodies frames a song where the voices sound like they were just made to sing together and where, once again, the banjo is used as the main instrument and turns what could be simply a good song with a fuller instrumental backing into something of a minor classic. While a whole album where the banjo is featured so prominently may not sound very appealing on paper it actually works very well. ‘We are tThe O’s’ is obviously steeped in the country / bluegrass sound just by the choice of the few instruments featured on the album but it’s appeal will go far beyond just the average bluegrass fan. ‘We are the O’s’ is one of those albums that you fall in love with instantly. While it’s good to have albums that you grow into, that take their time to reveal all their beauty there are also times when you need music that is new to have an immediate effect. Sometimes it’s such a struggle to hear something new that touches you immediately. You can hear that something good is going on but it takes time to reach it, but with the opening song, ‘You’ve Got Your Heart’, the O’s set out their stall perfectly and if the heartfelt vocals by both Pedigo and Young fail to move you the second you hear them then you probably have no heart beat. That an instrument like the banjo can evoke the same emotion as the vocals says a lot for the vision these guys share. Strong as that opening song is the band didn’t use their best tune to open the album, the following song, ‘Fast As I can’ is even better, again drenched in banjo and with those crystal clear vocals sounding bruised and vulnerable it’s another stripped-down musical gem. One feels that if more instruments were added to these songs something, the passion possibly, would be lost. So for once we have a debut album that offers up a new sound while still recognising the past which, until now, would only appeal to fans of the bluegrass / country sound. As mentioned before this album will appeal instantly, but it doesn’t get boring even after many plays. These songs are strong enough to stand repeated playing and despite the stripped-down instrumentation there is still, strangely enough, more to fall in love to with each and every listen.

Track Listing:-

1 You've Got Your Heart
2 Fast As I Can
3 I Still Wait
4 California
5 We've Had Everything
6 One Way Ticket
7 Diamonds
8 Finding It Hard
9 Don't Waste Your Day
10 Together
11 I Love You So Much