| OK Orchestra | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 26, 2021 | |||
| Recorded | 2019–2021 | |||
| Length | 45:48 | |||
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| Producer | ||||
| AJR chronology | ||||
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| Singles from OK Orchestra | ||||
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OK Orchestra (stylized in all uppercase), often abbreviated as OKO, is the fourth studio album by American pop band AJR. It was released on March 26, 2021, [1] [2] [3] by the band's own label AJR Productions. The album was produced by group member Ryan Met.
During a majority of the production of OK Orchestra, the album was titled Mad Orchestra, with AJR intending to make a "Bang!"-esque "dark and evil sounding" album. The band later decided on a more "melancholy, longing, and hopeful" sound, thinking of the negative mental repercussions that would come with writing a dark album. They replaced the album's "Mad" prefix with "OK" to represent the album's theme of "being worried about becoming irrelevant and obsolete" in the future but feeling OK in the current moment. [4] In an interview alongside Rivers Cuomo, AJR confirmed that the title of OK Orchestra was not based on either Radiohead's OK Computer or Weezer's OK Human , [5] the latter of which features the band on a remix of the track "All My Favorite Songs".
In February 2020, AJR released the album's first single, "Bang!", which became one of the trio's biggest hits ever in 2021 and in their entire time playing music. The single was originally intended as a track for a deluxe version of Neotheater , however this never came to fruition and the song eventually became the lead single for the forthcoming album. [6]
On August 31, 2020 they released the album's second single, "Bummerland", a song about the band sarcastically expressing their feelings on the COVID-19 pandemic. On December 20, 2020, they announced that OK Orchestra would be the name of their upcoming album, while also releasing the third single from the album, "My Play". It was put up for pre-order on iTunes/Apple Music [7] and showed that the album contained 13 tracks. [3] AJR released the album's fourth single "Way Less Sad" and its music video on February 17, 2021, [8] [9] On March 21, 2021, AJR launched OKO World, an interactive experience playable on their official website. [10]
AJR released a music video for "OK Overture" and "World's Smallest Violin" the same day the album was released. On June 23, almost three months later, they released a music video for "3 O'Clock Things". Two months afterwards on August 12, a music video for "Christmas in June" was released which featured footage filmed at the Wonderstruck Festival in Cleveland. On February 9, 2022, AJR released a music video for "Ordinaryish People".
On March 31, 2021, a tour for OK Orchestra was announced by AJR. A majority of 2022 tour dates in the US went public on April 11 and September 23, [11] [12] with an additional 12 dates in 2021 being published on July 27, 2021. [13] The tour sold over 350 thousand tickets across 50 shows in the US. [14]
A concert from the European Leg of the tour was supposed to happen on October 22, 2022 at the 1930 Moscow Concert hall in Moscow, Russia. It was supposed to be the final concert of the tour. This concert was then cancelled due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 25, 2022. [15]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Spectrum Culture | |
A.D. Amorosi of Variety described the album as "harmonically vocalized, hyper-memoir-centric, atmospheric mélange of pop, hip-hop, and doo-wop with quirky rhythms and a salting of smart-assed They Might Be Giants for tart taste". [2] In a review for AllMusic, Matt Collar wrote that "OK Orchestra isn't just full of hit-worthy pop hooks, it's stage-worthy, ambitious, and full of insights driven by AJR's personal experience", rating the album 4/5. [16] Thomas Stremfel of Spectrum Culture received the album less positively, rating the album 1/5 and stating that "hearing the terrible production and cringe-inducing songwriting of OK Orchestra without warning makes for an undeniably engaging listen... Year-end album lists should be filing restraining orders against this album, but that doesn't mean you can't listen to it for a cheap laugh." [17]
The album was nominated for Top Rock Album at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards alongside other bands Twenty One Pilots, Coldplay, and Imagine Dragons. [18]
OK Orchestra debuted at number 10 on the US Billboard 200 dated April 10, 2021, becoming AJR's second top-10 album. It earned 32,000 album-equivalent units, including 13,000 pure album sales. [19] Although OK Orchestra placed at number 55 on the midweek UK Albums Chart dated March 29, 2021, [20] it did not place in the final listing on April 2. [21] Much of the album's popularity has been attributed to the singles "Bang!", "Way Less Sad", and "World's Smallest Violin".
All tracks are written by Adam Met, Jack Met, and Ryan Met, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "OK Overture" | 4:31 | |
| 2. | "Bummerland" | 3:09 | |
| 3. | "3 O'Clock Things" | 3:47 | |
| 4. | "My Play" | 3:10 | |
| 5. | "Joe" | 3:33 | |
| 6. | "Adventure Is Out There" | 3:32 | |
| 7. | "Bang!" | 2:51 | |
| 8. | "The Trick" | 2:51 | |
| 9. | "Ordinaryish People" (featuring Blue Man Group) |
| 3:40 |
| 10. | "Humpty Dumpty" | 3:38 | |
| 11. | "World's Smallest Violin" | 3:01 | |
| 12. | "Way Less Sad" |
| 3:28 |
| 13. | "Christmas in June" | 4:40 | |
| Total length: | 45:49 | ||
Credits adapted from Tidal. [22]
AJR
Additional personnel
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA) [34] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo, Patrick Wilson, Brian Bell, and Scott Shriner. They have sold 10 million albums in the US and more than 35 million worldwide.
AJR is an American indie pop band founded by brothers Adam, Jack, and Ryan Met, collectively a trio of vocalists, multi-instrumentalists, and songwriters. The brothers grew up in New York City, primarily focused on busking and singing covers until releasing their first album, Living Room, on March 3, 2015. As of 2024, they have produced and released five studio albums under the independent label AJR Productions to various record labels.
"Weak" is a song by American indie pop band AJR. It was first released on their EP What Everyone's Thinking via the band's label AJR Productions on September 16, 2016, and was later the lead single for their second studio album The Click (2017). The song's lyrics describe acceptance of human weakness and feature an uptempo pop composition. A lyric and music video were released, with the latter featuring the band in a New York City subway. The music video went viral, with the song's popularity on Spotify helping the song become one of the band's highest charting songs.
The Click is the second studio album by American pop band AJR. It was released on June 9, 2017, by the band's label AJR Productions. The album was preceded by the five-track extended play What Everyone's Thinking in September 2016, which was composed of songs that all appear on The Click.
"Sober Up" is a song by American alternative pop band AJR, from their second studio album, The Click. Released as the album's third single, it features Rivers Cuomo, lead singer and frontman of American rock band Weezer, although certain radio stations instead play a version with band member Ryan singing Cuomo's verse. "Sober Up" became the first number one song for AJR on the Billboard Alternative Songs, when it peaked at number one on the chart in March 2018. Similarly, Cuomo had his first number one on the alternative Billboard chart as a solo artist.
Neotheater is the third studio album by American pop band AJR. It was released on April 26, 2019 by the band's label AJR Productions. The album was self-produced by the trio. It is a follow-up to the trio's 2017 album The Click (2017).
"I Won't" is a song by American pop band AJR. It was released on July 29, 2022 via Mercury Records as the lead single from the band's fifth studio album The Maybe Man.
"Bang!" is a song by American pop band AJR. It was released on February 12, 2020, through their own label, AJR Productions. The song is the lead single from the band's fourth album, OK Orchestra. On August 8, 2020, a remix version was released featuring Hayley Kiyoko and AhhHaa.
OK Human is the fourteenth studio album by American rock band Weezer, released on January 29, 2021 by Crush Music and Atlantic Records. Featuring a baroque-pop influenced sound, inspired by albums such as Harry Nilsson's Nilsson Sings Newman (1970) and the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds (1966), the album was recorded entirely with analogue equipment and features a 38-piece orchestra. The album was preceded by the lead single "All My Favorite Songs", released on January 21, 2021. The album received generally positive reviews from critics. OK Human is the first of two Weezer albums to be released in 2021, followed only four months later by Van Weezer.
"All My Favorite Songs" is a song by the American rock band Weezer, released on January 21, 2021, as the first single from their fourteenth studio album OK Human. A music video was released on the same day.
Living Room is the debut studio album by American pop band AJR. It was released through the band's label AJR Productions and Warner Music Group on March 3, 2015. The album was produced from the band's apartment in Chelsea, Manhattan.
"Way Less Sad" is a song by American pop band AJR. It was released on February 17, 2021, via Black Butter Records and S-Curve Records as the fourth single for the band's fourth studio album OK Orchestra, appearing as the twelfth track. It samples the song "My Little Town" by American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel and builds off unused demos intended for Norwegian DJ Kygo and American rapper Cardi B. The song's lyrics discuss having optimism amidst a poor state of mental health, instrumentally backed by upbeat pop music with hip hop influence.
"3 O'Clock Things" is a song by American pop band AJR from their fourth studio album OK Orchestra, appearing as the third track. It is the most popular non-single from the album, amassing over 43 million streams as of October 2023.
"World's Smallest Violin" is a song recorded by the American pop band AJR. It was released on March 26, 2021, as the 11th track from the band's fourth studio album OK Orchestra and as a music video. In 2022, the song became a viral song on the social media platform TikTok, with many using the ending verse and the line "I'll blow up into smithereens" as a soundbite on the site as fan edits or by throwing back to viral videos.
"Bummerland" is a song by American pop band AJR. It was released on August 31, 2020 via S-Curve Records as the second single from the band's fourth studio album OK Orchestra.
The Maybe Man is the fifth studio album by the American pop trio AJR. It was released on November 10, 2023, following their previous studio album OK Orchestra (2021). It is the band's first album released under their deal with Mercury Records. The album was met with mixed reviews.
"My Play" is a song by American pop band AJR. It was released on December 22, 2020 via S-Curve Records as the third single from the band's fourth studio album OK Orchestra.
"Record Player" is a song by American pop bands Daisy the Great and AJR. It was released on August 31, 2021 via S-Curve Records as a single from the deluxe version of Daisy the Great's second studio album All You Need Is Time.
"Yes I'm a Mess" is a song by American pop band AJR. It was released on September 29, 2023, via Mercury Records as the fifth and final single from the band's fifth studio album The Maybe Man.
"Maybe Man" is a song by American pop band AJR from their fifth studio album The Maybe Man, appearing as the opening track. The song received a music video on the day of the album's release.
