Search - Okay :: Huggable Dust

Great listen

Jeffrey Hogg | walla walla | 04/22/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is great.



It is difficult to find much information on Okay online but what I found was enough to convince me to drop my limited money on this album. The lyrics are what do it for me, I really connected with what he talks about and it doesn't hurt that the songs are so damn catchy either.



Buy this, you won't regret it.





"

Okay = Gorgeous Chamber Pop

Leif Sheppard | United States | 01/02/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It can be a frustratingly difficult task to dredge up information about indie band Okay. This can undoubtedly be attributed to the absurdly generic name, which tends to bring up all sorts of irrelevant information. It helps to know, then, that Okay is a continually evolving musical collective with lead singer Marty Anderson being the only core member. Okay's two debut releases in 2005, "Low Road" and "High Road", garnered a notable amount of attention from independent music sites upon release, yet the vastly underrated 2008 release of "Huggable Dust" stands as a superior piece of work. It ranked as one of my favorite records of 2008, and one of the few I still spin occasionally going into 2010.



The handful of media interviews available, including an excellent one with SF Weekly, indicate that Anderson suffers from a crippling case of Crohn's disease. For sixteen hours every day Anderson is connected to an IV which essentially sustains his life. As a result, his freedom and functionality are understandably limited. You might believe his music would be dark and brooding, a consistently melancholy meditation on the injustices of life.



Not a chance.



It's a testament to Anderson's character that the music of Okay is often unabashedly joyous and always sublimely beautiful. The best tracks are fused with simplistic yet soulful lyrics that typically appear to revolve around a failed relationship, or more likely lamenting a relationship that never was. This doesn't seem like particularly happy material, but just listen to these songs, which tend to conclude in an explosion of energetic sound that can melt even the coldest heart.



"My" and "Panda" are two of the many highlights. Both songs begin in a subtly modest fashion before culminating into epic orchestra-like grandeur as the songs close. Anderson's creaky voice may take a bit to catch on to, as it's certainly not a traditionally pleasant tone, yet the band wouldn't be half of what it is without him. There's a singular evocative quality to his voice, one that is well aware of the harshness of our world yet still revels in the small delights that abound. Unrequited love never sounded more romantic, or more beautiful, than it does here."

Astounding.

Emmanuel Donio | New York, NY | 09/03/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The way this guy manipulates sound to make songs is really amazing. His voice is incredibly distinct (but fits the songs well), and his arrangements are very evocative. The music moves me. Love it."