I’ll be brutally honest: I didn’t have high hopes for Ookay’s debut album. After the first few singles came out, I believed that Ookay had pigeon holed himself too hard and was trapped in a sound of his own design, ultimately forcing too many repetitive motifs within the project. I’m happy to say that I was wrong, and I find his debut album, Wow! Cool Album!, to be a quirky twist on pop EDM that is entirely his own.
The sound motif is definitely well-established by the third song on the album, but Ookay navigates the waters within that motif with skill and grace. Every track sounds similar, because similar synths and keys are being used, but they all carry their own distinct identity.
Wow! Cool Album! is supremely difficult to nail down within any specific genre. Technically, it falls under the EDM umbrella, but if I had to call it anything, it would be more like ‘pop dance.’ Rife with Ookay’s own vocals and an extraordinarily unique synth palette, WCA will no doubt occupy its own space in the dance music annals for years to come. 
The album is also smart in how it lends itself to Ookay’s own live show, with plenty of opportunities for him to jam on his keytar or smash those synth pads during his performance.
If you were like me and weren’t thinking of giving Ookay’s album a chance, do yourself a favor and at least listen through it once. If you still don’t like it, then fine. But you might just find something you weren’t expecting.
Ookay – Wow! Cool Album!
Photo via Rukes.com
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