Radio Quality?

Artist: OneRepublic
Album: Waking Up
Label: Interscope Records

      Generally, I don’t listen to the radio. I find it to be bad for my mental well-being. However, due to my rampant absent-mindedness I sometimes forget my mp3 player when I go grocery shopping, and since the steady hum of car tires eventually grows a little unnerving, I will in such cases turn on the radio, cross my fingers, and hope for the best. One magical morning, as I turned the dial of my car stereo, my ears were assaulted by OneRepublic’s “All The Right Moves.”
      The chorus of “All The Right Moves” immediately grabbed my attention—in a good way. It is magnificently huge and upbeat, the instrumentation is decidedly rock bandish, and the lyrics are pumped full of well-meaning ambiguities. In short, I found it to be the perfect soundtrack for a day of mundane errand-running.
      A week or so later, I accidentally stumbled upon Waking Up while browsing the internet. The cover art intrigued me. I liked the simplicity. I liked the pretty colors. So I bought the album.
      And I initially enjoyed what I was hearing. “Made For You” starts things off strong with a piano melody ripe for the arena and a wiry vocal line that could be found on a Lovedrug album. “All The Right Moves” follows, after an odd excursion into studio noise and large choir land (which may or may not have been pulled off successfully, depending on how cynical I am when making the judgment).
      “Secrets” lags a little, but “Everybody Loves Me” picks the pace back up with a blues-tinged guitar riff and the perfect mix of irony and sincerity. However, many of the songs on the latter half of the album aren’t quite as radio-ready as “All The Right Moves.” In fact, Waking Up actually moves slower and more deliberately than I had expected. As a result, I became a bit bored.
      However, after adjusting my expectations for the album, I approached it again and began to sense more of its excellence. OneRepublic plays safe music that borders on arena rock, takes hints from hip-hop, and glories in its accessibility. If you’re expecting your musical mind to be blown, you will be massively disappointed by Waking Up. But if you are in the mood for easy to digest tunes sprinkled with the occasional moment of excellence, OneRepublic is the band for you.
      Throughout Waking Up, Ryan Tedder’s voice occupies center stage. This is a good thing, as Tedder has a great deal of control over his voice, and he varies up his delivery in a variety of ways. He can belt out gospel-sounding licks, croon a quiet lullaby, or hit that elusive note for a hair-raising chorus.
      Behind Tedder, the band churns out a steady stream of unimpeachable musicianship. They bounce back and forth from Beck-like guitar riffs to Viva La Vida inspired instrumental postludes. No single element takes too much of the spotlight—the interplay between pianos, organs, guitars, and strings is part of what keeps things interesting.
      Lyrically, Waking Up resides in the realm of big, fuzzy pictures with lines like “Say oh, got this feeling that you can't fight/Like this city is on fire tonight/This could really be a good life/A good, good life.” Later in the album, Tedder contemplates the fearlessness of children, promises to return to a lost love, and expresses hope for the future. All good things, certainly, but I would prefer the songwriting to be a little more focused.
      Admittedly, the band has demonstrated that they have the ability to write big songs with big hooks. If they were to throw a little more creativity into the songwriting and take a few musical chances, I would call myself a fan. As it is, I count OneRepublic a guilty pleasure and a not altogether unpleasant discovery.