Picturesque - 'Do You Feel O.K?' Album Review

Tracklist:

1. Necessary 2. ATTN: 3. Swipe 4. Crimes 5. Prisoner 6. O.K? 7. Holding Me Down 8. Glass House 9. Pray 10. Say It Like You Mean It 11. Day By Day

If the idea of a band combining the dynamics and harder edge from Post-Hardcore with stylistic leanings toward R&B and a Pop sheen gets you excited then this might very well be the album for you.

At it's best 'Are You OK?' Recalls when Daniel Johns (late of Silverchair) solo experimentation has leaned in an alt. R&B direction (which I was a big fan of, and I find the concept here really interesting in theory) but in a bigger sense I keep coming back to a more musically interesting version of Imagine Dragons.

Yeah, sorry guys. There is a fine balance to be had between creating something that is adventurous and interesting while balancing mainstream appeal, and it can definitely be done very well. But here everything just skews a little bit too far towards the tried and true approachable side of things.

Let's be clear, I don't think there are any particularly bad songs on this album. The production is incredibly crisp and detailed, with the traditional Rock instruments and vocals all keeping expertly levelled and worthy of your attention. The synths/keys and other atmospheric touches provide emotional heft and propel things along quite nicely. Every member of the band is clearly a competent musician and good at what they do, and the production and engineering is top notch. But it just ain't enough.

Pretty packaging and technical know-how are fantastic but ultimately nothing here sticks out, hits me where it hurts, makes me feel like moving. This is probably a great piece of work for a certain type of person. But not this reviewer.