Customer Reviews

The Night Undoes the Work of the Day

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To quote a friend of mine, "Wow. Just...wow."
I've been a long time fan of Oh My God and this album delivers. I love the band, love their music, love their shows and they really are just nice guys.
This is one of my all time favorite bands. I've seen them live a multitude of times over the years and I own all their albums. If you haven't seen them yet, get out and see them. The albums are great but their live shows are the best.

This is my fourth OMG experience on disc, and they've surprised me by doing a bit of a u-turn. "Fools Want Noise" was just bonkers; a careening compound of melody and noise that manages to seem both sloppy and pristine at the same time. I think the boys figured they'd pushed their sound about as far as they could (adding heavy guitars to the mix) with FWN and decided to relax a bit on "The Night Undoes the Work of the Day."

Mind you, this is not a criticism. Whereas all their other discs have had their ugly "Quick . . where's the 'skip' button?!?" moments, this is one of the most consistently enjoyable records I own, track for track. Even my least favorite track ("I Don't Think It's So Funny") is interesting.

The best stuff here is absolutely going to get stuck in your head, and you'll have no say in the matter. "My Own Adventure" in particular has settled into my consciousness and (presumably) permanent top-five ALL-TIME list. I don't say that lightly . . it's simply one of the most perfect pop songs you'll ever hear, starting out with a Billie Jean beat and doing a slow build to an impossibly infectious chorus and plainitively romantic lyrics. Check YouTube for the video if you haven't heard it.

Other highlights include the gorgeous pop of "My Prayer" and "Baby, Dream", and two stripped-down ballads ("My Juliet" and "Strangers on a Train") that will turn the most hard-bitten musical cynic into a puddle of goo. If you are unconvinced of Billy and Iguana's songwriting chops after hearing these two gems, I give up.

They've put the demented organ experiments on the back-burner this go-round (except during a furious take on "One Thing Leads to Another"), to let the songs speak for themselves. And man, does it ever work. If there are any flaws here, it's that overall it might be a little TOO neat and tidy (and a little too short). But, given its place in their discography, that's understandable. They've changed things up just enough from record to record. I can't wait to hear the next step in the progression.