The Bloomington music scene has exploded in the past few years. It seems bands are popping out of nowhere, and trying to stand out amidst the crowd has proved difficult for many bands. But not Olo. Olo has become one of the premiere bands in Bloomington, and with its latest release, Still Life With Peripheral Grey, it shows why.
Olo
Still Life With Peripheral Grey
No Karma Recordings
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Olo's music is infectious, to say the least. The jazz melodies, with a hint of modern electronics, are abnormally addictive. It's a nice mellow album, great background music for reading, studying or just hanging out.
The album is largely instrumental. For the most part, Olo lets its guitars, drums and piano do the talking. It brings to mind people sitting around a coffee shop, enjoying the atmosphere and soaking in the beats.
Variety is the key to Still Life. The songs range from the slow, quiet "To Me You're Like the Setting Sun," to the upbeat and poppy "Pizzazz." Some songs like "Barr of Sand" and "The Multitudes" are expansive and inventive while "Tennis on Swaymore…. Swaymore" is catchy and fun. And the guys of Olo were nice enough to put an intermission in the album, in case the listener needs to take a break from listening for 30 seconds or so.
Still Life is a thought-provoking, beautiful album. The only problem is the fact that it's so short. At only about 34 minutes, it leaves the listener begging for more. Olo jams its way successfully through 34 minutes, but it seems the band should be able to go on much longer. The songs are often short, as well, each one tight and precise, but leave something to be desired.
Olo stands tall in the Bloomington music scene. Still Life stands tall as not just good music but also intelligent and well-written. It's great to see a very talented group of guys get together to make really good music. Olo's music brings jazz to the mainstream and gives listeners something different to hang out with.
