Oh Wonder - 22 Break

by Nick Dent-Robinson

published: 18 / 10 / 2021

Label: Island Records
Format: CD

Exceptional third album from under-rated South London alt pop duo Oh Wonder, the project of Josephine Vander Gucht and Anthony West, which was inspired by their near romantic break-up during its recording

Review

South London alt pop duo Oh Wonder remain one of the UK's unsung successes. Two of their three previous albums reached the Top 10 and Billie Eilish (who is a big fan) covered one of their songs, 'All We Do' during her Apple+ documentary, 'The World's A Little Blurry In February'. Oh Wonder also won many plaudits after the same haunting song 'All We Do' was used as the theme for every series of the popular and award-winning TV crime show, 'Unforgotten'. Talented former solo artist Josephine Vander Gucht and Anthony West have been musical partners since 2011 and romantically involved for almost as long. However, the pandemic - which struck just as they were about to tour promoting their third album, 'No One Else Can Wear Your Crown' - took a toll on their personal and professional lives. Simmering tensions between them rose as they entered quarantine. But Josephine and Anthony poured their rage and resentment into a new home-produced record that explores loneliness and the frustrations of lock-down life against a clever backdrop of electronic sounds. '22 Break' (as in “two to break” a heart) is more than a standard break-up album, though. There is a raw immediacy to its he-said-she-said narratives on 'Kicking The Doors Down' and 'Don't Let The Neighbourhood Hear' and 'Baby'. The music ranges from delightfully lo-fi bedroom pop to folkish electronica with potent hooks on 'Down' plus jazz sax and piano on 'Dinner'. There is even a real-life happy ending. For, by the time they'd finished working on the new album, Josephine and Anthony were reconciled and they married in August this year! Oh Wonder have commented that they might be the first musicians to have made a break-up record whilst actually on the point of breaking up (almost) with each other. Not so. For Fleetwood Mac did all of that back in 1977 on 'Rumours'. '22 Break' is, however, a compelling study of one couple's bid to overcome the emotional strains of lockdown. And it is heart-warming to know that they succeeded. With Josephine's real skill as a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and song-writer and Anthony's creativity both as a musician/writer/vocalist and producer there is something quite exceptional about Oh Wonder. They already have a loyal following of fans but they have long deserved far wider recognition. Maybe the release of '22 Break' will help them achieve that.

Track Listing:-

1 Baby
2 Down
3 22 Break
4 Free
5 Don't Let The Neighbourhood Hear
6 Dinner
7 Rollercoaster Baby
8 Love Me Now
9 You > Me
10 Kicking The Doors Down
11 Twenty Fourteen

Band Links:-

https://www.ohwondermusic.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ohwondermusic
https://twitter.com/OhWonderMusic

Label Links:-

http://www.islandrecords.co.uk/
https://twitter.com/islandrecordsuk/
https://www.youtube.com/user/islandrec
https://www.facebook.com/IslandRecords
https://instagram.com/islandrecordsuk/