Before launching into a boppy little rock-n-roll number, the first track on Harlem’s sophomore release (2010’s Hippies) offers a prediction: “Someday soon you’ll be on fire, and you’ll ask me for a glass of water. I’ll say no. You can just let that shit burn.” The effect is one that sets a tone for that record: energetic, playful, and vaguely sinister.
In comparison, Oh Boy is more laid back in its tonal aspirations, and leans heavily on a smoother production that sees the tracks on the record glide one to another with less finality, yes, but also with more purpose.
For example, the bluesy “Click Your Heels” is a ballad at heart, calling back to early Monkees rhythmic patterns while slowing things down considerably when compared to 2010’s “Someday Soon.” It’s an interesting stylistic break, because while the band’s chemistry remains more or less the same, and their playing remains loose and fluid, the lack of urgency in many of the tracks combined with a production that is drastically lush paints the threesome in a vastly different light without really having to change many of its core elements.
In this sense, there’s less of a departure from their earlier material than might appear at first glance. The lazy, feel-good “Me and the Boys” takes an ideological page from laid-back ‘70s summer hits like Mungo Jerry’s “In the Summertime” and The Stampeders’ “Sweet City Woman.” This trend continues for much of the record, and while not many of the ideas presented are clearly and purposely new, their iteration on Oh Boy is refreshing in its lack of cynicism. That’s in itself a feat, when performing slow ballads like “Smoke in Mirrors,” whose slower tempo and love-letter lyricism always run the risk of falling into the realm of overly-saccharine mindlessness. Even with its slower pace (which, admittedly, drags the record down halfway), there is always a blind optimism sneaking around the corner of each track. This is especially apparent on “Dreams is Destiny,” the chorus of which is both dreamland optimistic and downcast at the same time.
This isn’t to say that the record is without its faults. The band’s throwback aesthetic on this particular go around also sees them miss the mark by putting together solid but uninspired numbers, such as “Cry Now Cry Later.” Although there’s nothing technically lacking in the track, it falls flat almost entirely due to the fact that it takes no risks, and instead of safe, what we get ends up being boring after the first minute or so.
Although it’s not Harlem’s best record, Oh Boy will entertain anyone looking for something to conjure the appeal of early rock’s spongy, lush twang, while also bringing a more contemporary production quality to the table.
