With equal parts U2, Duran Duran and their own unique voicings, R.U.O.K crafts a top-notch album that gets the Gigatracks seal of approval. There is something of a New Wave revival going on right now. People are looking back to the sounds of bands such as Duran Duran, New Order and others who have been long overlooked to fashion and remold into the current mainstream. Such is the cycle of music. Unfortunately, many of these acts are simply copying, not only their influences, but each other as well.

This is where R.U.O.K breaks away from the pack. On ‘Arctic Warmth’, they’ve crafted a sound that is at once both unique and familiar. They take these influences, along with others like U2, and apply their own stamp to it. With hints of New Wave and Brit-Pop they have created an album that is strong from to start to finish with very few missteps along the way. And I don’t listen to too many albums any more that I can say that about.
They come out of the gate with ‘A Bit More Blue’ which basically sets the tone for the rest of the album. With it’s catchy chorus and …., you get the idea about what to expect for the next hour.

The first misstep comes along with the title track, which lacks the instant gratification that the first two tracks exhibit. But here’s the funny thing about R.U.O.K. Even when I’d hit a track that I didn’t like, there would still be sections of it that would pull it up from the category of ’skip it’ to ‘wait… let it play’. So even when they miss the mark, they don’t miss it completely. Even tracks like ‘Kiss Or Kill’, which I think is also one of the low points, had things about it that kept me listening.

But, they get right back on track with ‘Endless Is The Everything’, which is one of the highlights of the album. “This race is worth the run”, sings Keith Kelly in the chorus of ‘Endless…’ and that probably is a better review of this album than anything I’ve said thus far. Once they get the ball rolling again with this one, they keep building up momentum. Other standout tracks like ‘Forward Motions’, with it’s laid back tempo and dream-pop sound, and ‘Vacant Staions’ with it’s bombastic chorus show that these guys are not a one-trick pony.

And of course, we featured ‘We Watched You Walk In’ here a litte while back, so it’s obvious that we enjoyed that track. They have a knack for a good hook and a writing great song from the lyrics, to the instrumention, to the production.

R.U.O.K have really put together a strong album that I gladly recommend to any of you. It’s a great album from beginning to end. So check it out and support these guys because they are a fantastic example of the great music that you can discover via the Internet. R.U.O.K, and bands like them, is the reason why I love this job!