The highly anticipated third album from British alt-pop duo Oh Wonder is a dreamy stroll through the realities of love in the modern age. Not only is it freakishly relatable for anyone who has ever been in love and but it is also filled to the brim with anecdotal one-liners that could easily become your ex-girlfriends Instagram caption. This album is bursting at the seams with love and just when you thought it couldn’t get anymore rose coloured, you find out that the bands two members, Anthony West and Josephine Vander Gucht are in fact in love….. with each other.
‘No One Else Can Wear Your Crown’ opens slowly in a fashion similar to waking up next to a loved one. It is warm, smiling and optimistic. The sweetly paired harmonies of Anthony West and Josephine Vander Gucht continue to guide you carefully through a maze of orchestral instrumentation, bubbly synth and pulsating percussion. The feeling is hopeful and buoyant with sweet lyrics sure to melt the very coldest of hearts.
Despite the energetic, joyfulness of the duo’s more radio-ready singles ‘Happy’ and ‘Hallelujah’, there are some really beautiful moments of quiet and soft. My personal favourite song from the album,’Nothing But You’ is one of these moments, it is a heartfelt yet minimalistic love song with the sweetest melody, a quiet retreat from the often chaotic electronic album.
Reminiscent of a Postal Service or Death Cab for Cutie, this album simultaneously inspires and captures love in a way only an early 2000’s Ben Gibbard project could. This dreamy ten-song album is a welcome venture into Oh Wonders rose coloured musical world, a world where love is shiny and bright just like it should be. For those that are game enough to really lean into their feels, I can recommend listening to this album in the quiet hours just as the sun is starting to rise or at home alone on a rainy day with a cup of tea in hand.
4/5
Island Records
Reviewed by Jordyn Workman
