Rating: NNN
Like part-time Olympic archer Geena Davis, Chicago popsters OK Go are sexy, a lot smarter than they look and pack a pretty mean wallop. Their candy-packed debut album proves they’ve figured out how to hit all the right buttons to bridge the college rock and mainstream radio worlds. It’s bubbling over with Beach Boys harmonies, three-chord pogo numbers, intelligible lyrics and bittersweet school dance ballads with doo-wop swing. From lead track Get Over It — an obvious stadium anthem, with its explosive fist-shaker percussion, sing-along chorus and roller-rink organs — to goofy tunes like You’re So Damn Hot, these guys don’t take themselves seriously. There are moments reminiscent of Better than Ezra’s candy-coloured fizz-pop, but it’s all subverted by the edge in the half-gasped delivery of frenetic frontman Damian Kulash. OK Go take over Lee’s Palace Monday (November 4).SL
