Oh Wonder – Album Review

In a time where it’s difficult to come across decent music, I often find myself surprised when I actually find something worth listening to.

Oh Wonder, a harmony duet from London (that’s right, MORE talent from the UK), released their debut album last year, after getting exposure on YouTube.

The album is full of melodic beats, and has an almost trap-like muse to it. The singers, Josephine Vander Gucht and Anthony West, are vocally very talented, with Josephine hitting the higher notes, and her counterpart swinging in for the lows.

Our journey through this expanse of musical talent begins with ‘Livewire’, the first track, setting up a calm beginning, which gradually picks up through the songs. We then glide through ‘Body Gold’, an electronic track, and from here, we get into one of the more widely known songs, ‘Technicolour Beat’. 

Honestly, it’s difficult to pin a single genre on the two, because each song is just so unique. ‘Technicolour Beat’ has a late summer feeling, and a kind of after party feel with lyrics like “‘caught up in the heat, spinning on our feet”.

‘Drive’ is a personal favourite of mine; the lyrics are sublime and delivered with excellence. We then move onto the first song I ever heard from the duo. ‘Lose It’ is a slow jazz-themed track, the kind you’d slow dance with a partner to. The beat is so… groovy? There’s really no other way to describe it.

A ‘Landslide’ follows (see what I did there), and while it may not be the strongest song on the record, it’s still notable. The ending is particularly satisfying to listen to and from here we have ‘White Blood’, a slow and almost haunting piece of music with a reminiscent tone throughout.

‘Without You’ has actually been played on BBC Radio 1 a few times in the last month or so, and it’s understandable as to why. It’s definitely the most ‘pop-y’ out of the album, but a really good song nonetheless, with excellent harmonies. It’s exactly the right way to pick up after ‘White Blood’. ‘The Rain’ is next, followed by ‘Dazzle’, the most lively song on the album – the kind you blast in your car at night, or put on during a party just before the shots start rolling.

‘All We Do’, another personal favourite, is a hard-hitting song, all about how day to day we can fail, but we can still deal with it. Its simple piano and slight drum beat make it the perfect accompaniment to the singers.

Then the album closes with some of their more experimental tracks, ‘Shark’, ‘Midnight Moon’, ‘Heart Hope’, and lastly ‘Plans’.

The album is a gorgeously composed, wonderfully executed wave of emotion and music. Each song is unique, with a different theme.

So slap on your headphones and be blissfully taken away by the sweet loveliness of Oh Wonder’s first album.

You can buy it here, or listen to it below.