The London-based indie pop duo Oh Wonder released their third studio album, “No One Else Can Wear Your Crown,” on February 7 to the delight of their fanbase.
The record’s release was preceded by four singles: “Hallelujah,” “Better Now,” “I Wish I Never Met You” and “Happy.”
Six additional tracks, including one unplugged and five acoustic interpretations of other songs on the album, also present themselves in the record’s deluxe edition, though the main album has a total of 10 songs.
Here, Oh Wonder has crafted a refreshing synth-pop record combining their minimalistic production with doses of flair and dreamy melodies, and the finished product is an interesting mix to take in that doesn’t end up noisy or dated.
Highlights
“Better Now”
Keeping the duo’s signature duets and soft piano melodies, this song feels like it belongs on the radio. The production never feels overblown, and the result is a catchy melody that will get stuck in your head.
“How It Goes”
This is my favorite song on the record. It illustrates duality perfectly; how one day, a person might wake up feeling on top of the world and the next, they’ve sunk into a hole that they don’t feel they can get out of. The end product is incredibly relatable and keeps its tone throughout.
“Hallelujah”
Three versions of this song exist on the record, but the original is my personal favorite. It has this anthemic, empowering quality that proves its worth with booming percussion.
Background
The band Oh Wonder is a duo consisting of Anthony West and Josephine Vander Gucht that was formed in London in the early 2010s. Vander Gucht was originally a solo artist using her own name before settling on the stage name “LAYLA”; meanwhile, West was a member of the bands Tonight is Goodbye, Futures, and We The Wild.
West and Vander Gucht met at one of Josephine’s gigs in March 2010, and the duo began making music together about a year later. Oh Wonder’s eponymous debut album was released in 2015 after the group dropped one new single a month beginning in September 2014.
The same strategy was employed for their second album, “Ultralife,” with a new single being released every two weeks.
Since the release of their debut album, Oh Wonder has played at various music festivals and toured across the globe, including a stint as the opening act for Halsey’s Badlands Tour.
“No One Else Can Wear Your Crown” shows off the duo’s ability to consistently create intriguing and relatable pop songs that don’t feel completely cluttered or in the listener’s face.
Parts feel monotonous, but the record doesn’t drag because of it. Each song has its place on the record; nothing stands out as being mediocre and, with the deluxe edition, the different versions included add varying styles to their original tunes with great success.
