Oh No

Why hasn’t anyone called Roy Thomas Baker? The Queen/Cars producer is obviously the man for this job. Chicago’s OK Go manage fine with producer Tore Johansson (Cardigans, Franz Ferdinand) at the knobs, but tracks such as “Here It Goes Again” and “A Good Idea At The Time“ are such obvious homage to tight-ship producer Baker, who massaged tense rhythms and massive block harmonies into ‘70s hits, that an invitation should be forthcoming. With their second album, the guys OK Go represent that spiky new breed of rock band: sharply dressed and conceptually focused toward getting their point across quickly and succinctly. The influences beyond the Cars and Pixies are eclectic and fun to spot. “Oh Lately It’s So Quiet” has the playful falsetto vocal of Damien Kulash shifting into Mick Jagger territory. “It’s a Disaster” has a nervous Strokes-like vibe. “No Sign of Life” has traces of the Faces in its ramshackle acoustic guitar and groove. Somehow OK Go manages to be both disciplined and reckless within the same groove.

Oh, yes: It's the return of OK Go.

The songs that form the core of Oh No cohere into a consistently engaging take on modern rock.

If music is the cultural meal of the masses, then Chicago's OK Go would be best found on the desert menu, or at the most extreme, confined to candy stores...