OK Go

In their press release, singer Damian Kulash, Jr. claims OK Go are "trying to be a DIY band in a post-major label world," and frankly, they're doing a pretty damn good job. The band took great care and more than four years to create Of the Blue Colour of the Sky, whose 13 tracks (shaved down from more than a hundred) passed through countless iterations and producers before finally being set for release. It's that concern for utmost quality and attention to detail that makes Of the Blue Colour of the Sky so much more than the sum of its dance-oriented, pop rock parts. The slinky groove of opener "WTF?" is emphasized by its woozy 5/4 timing, the stark loneliness of "Skyscrapers" is punctuated by Kulash's cracking falsetto wail, and if the thunderous, mid-tempo stomp of the meticulously-produced drums doesn't hit you on "All Is Not Lost," they will by swirling album closer "In the Glass." Of the Blue Colour of the Sky is sweet without the stickiness and fun without the frivolity, a thoroughly satisfying gem deserving of the critical acclaim that has too long eluded OK Go.