OCTOPUS KOOL AID

Absolutely one of the most sonically bizarre ORL albums up to this point both with just the strange, often clashing styles at play and also the fact that it feels pretty removed from his other material in certain respects. Really asks the question that everyone had on their minds too: "What if he made a weird hybrid between classic psychedelic pop melodies with dissonant industrial instrumentation and also decided to use synths instead of his signature guitar style". Turns out that the answer to this question is that it sometimes works remarkably well but often falls a bit short when it comes to the individual songwriting at play. The atmosphere is really where this shines to me, with the abstract, surreal soundscapes that almost never fade back into the normalcy that typically happens, all alien imagery, basically no cleanly structured and easy to digest elements to be found, and I really appreciate what's trying to be done here. Even the more simplistic, warm melodies feel as if they've been filtered through a thick haze, sounding vaguely uncanny even, and it makes for an extremely unique listen with some big highlights. Unfortunately, it's a pretty mixed bag, you've got amazing tracks like Where Are the Angels? or the deeply unsettling, repetitive Waves, but there are a lot of other moments that feel almost unfinished or simply unpleasant. This is especially noticeable with the more high pitched, blaring tones that skitter all over the place, providing less of a psychedelic vibe and just being a bit too loud and annoying, which makes a couple of otherwise amazing tracks feel that bit less interesting or impactful, especially with Pink Heart. Despite this however, Octopus Kool Aid honestly works rather well for the most part and is certainly a unique time with just enough moments of greatness throughout that make me appreciate it despite how painfully flat it will sometimes fall. Took a couple of listens, but what initially seemed like Omar not entirely playing to any of his major strengths ends up being a remarkably interesting little time despite some of its inconsistencies. Totally worth a couple of listens to really let everything sink in too, because it's one of those that's also a bit deceptively dense too.