Review Summary: An album whose lyrics highlight the member's mental struggles, but whose songs highlight their compositional ones.
“Quite frankly, I don’t care if people call us a rock band or not,” vocalist Kyle Hollis says. “The genre of the songs we make doesn’t matter to us; in fact, I’d go as far as to say they’re genreless––nothing we write is formed in the traditional way. If something works, we roll with it, and that makes the music abstract, off the wall and, more than anything, exciting.”
When rock bands go pop the quality of the music doesn’t decrease because it’s an inherently bad idea (in some cases it is though). No, it decreases in quality because most rock bands don’t know how to write quality pop songs. A plethora of rock bands change up their sound only to flounder because their ego told them that half-hearted imitation was innovation. The opening quote is from Picturesque lead singer, Kyle Hollis, and is front and center on their biography page at equal vision records. They want the listener to know they are purely genreless, and there is no other band creating what they do. There is no other band who grew tired of making late 00s post-hardcore and transitioned into a more commercial direction. None. Absolutely none. Especially not a band that rhymes with Shememarosa, and especially especially not a band with an equally high-pitched singer with the initials SWS.
Asinine statement aside, it should be noted that bands are in fact allowed to change their sound on a whim in whatever direction they please. While a 16 year old me would cry blasphemy for going into a poppier direction there is nothing inherently wrong with the idea on paper with the right ingredients. Undeniably the part of Back to Beautiful was the very catchy choruses, so a poppier sound for Picturesque made sense.
Is Do You Feel O.K? truly a rapid departure from Picturesque’s core sound which would warrant such a bold statement like the one Kyle Hollis delivered at the beginning of this review? Short answer, no. Picturesque is still picturesque. Their core sound which revolves around their charmingly high-pitched singer is still intact. Picturesque did not create a new genre. They are not genreless. They made a much more pop sensible album with new caveats to separate itself from its predecessor.
A refreshing caveat are brand new lyrical topics. There are still break up songs and love songs, but most of the album, as the name implies, delves into Hollis’s less than stellar mental state. While these are sympathetic topics it does not elevate the lyrics beyond criticism. They’re sad yes, but they aren’t prophetic or deep. They’re simple, somewhat relatable, and sufficient, but they leave the listener perhaps wanting more than the surface level sorrows and depressive wallows.
The biggest caveat and arguably the biggest hindrance is Hollis's new vocal style. Hollis really does not like actually singing on verses. He instead opts for a tone that can be generously called subdued and moody or could just as easily be described as weak and tepid. The highlight of Picturesque was that Hollis could pull off inanely high whales and that wow factor isn’t prominent on Do You Feel O.K? besides maybe one or two instances. However, Hollis still knows how to craft a great melody for chorus which will get stuck on one’s head. When he actually sings his voice still has the same polarizing, yet overall positive qualities it possessed in the past.
Instrumentally there is a formula almost every song on the album follows to a fault. Said formula consists of a completely milquetoast verse with mostly samples, synthetic backing beats, and an occasional moody guitar with some good ol’ reverb or real drum track. However, it’s usually followed up by a catchy, sometimes repetitive chorus that, to a varying degree, makes up for the dull verses. Most songs are mid-tempo which only adds to the monotony of the formula, and despite being factually incorrect Do You Feel O.k? feels longer than its predecessor. The newly added beep boops tend to clash with the guitar parts. If one is the prominent focus for a section of the song the other is most likely doing the most rudimentary accompaniment. Subsequently, this leads to the album feeling more than a tad dichotomous. It’s not as if the electronic elements or the instrumentals are bad in any way, they’re once again sufficient, they just leave more to be desired.
While it may seem like this album is destitute for quality tracks that isn’t entirely true. “ATTN:” is far and away the best song on the album because not only does it has a drive and an energy to it, but Hollis actually sings for a majority of it. It also has a soaring, even if slightly out of place, guitar solo and some decent samples and keyboards that coincide pleasantly with the instruments. “Prisoner”, “Prey”, and “Holdin Me Down” are three other songs with enjoyable choruses. In essence, most songs' mileage will vary to the degree one can appreciate the chorus and tolerate the throwaway verses.
Even the weakest songs on the album “Swipe” and “OK?” are only the weakest because of their disgusting repetition (even if the latter has an admittedly strong chorus). They aren’t grossly incompetent and nothing truly is on the album. At worst the songs are filler. At best the songs are good, but still have filler.
So what does that make Do You Feel O.K? Simply put, an album that fails to live up to the enigmatic qualities the band members themselves praise it for. Some catchy choruses hampered by equally by the numbers verses. Nothing bad, nothing jaw-droppingly great, nothing especially new.
