Album: Apolonio
Artist: Omar Apollo
Release Date: October 16, 2020
Genre: R&B/Pop/Rock
Length: 0:25:58
Label: Warner Records
Producer: Omar Velasco/Blake Slatkin/Michael Uzowuru/Teo Halm/Budgie/Mk.gee/Edgar Rodriguez/Albert Hammond Jr./Oscar Santander/DJ Dahi
Cross cultural musicianship at its finest...
Following a successful EP in Friends and a tour across North America in 2019, singer-songwriter Omar Apollo with his long-awaited debut album Apolonio.
Opening up the album with the song "I'm Amazing" features a chill melody seemingly from a guitar behind the chaotic organized beats. Apollo raps in both English and Spanish across the landscape of the track and occasionally performs in his harmonious voice. With impressive background harmonies and a wild arrangement in vocal style, this song was the perfect opener for the rest of Apolonio.
"Kamikaze" puts the bass at the forefront with an occasional slap from the snare drum, all with Apollo's dreamlike guitar wah-wah's. The harmonics behind him during the chorus transport you into the head of Apollo and bring everything he feels into your own senses. The beat throughout has a slight vintage feel to it with a small record player crackle on the undertone of the actual beat which is an interesting dynamic with the modern day punch.
On the surface, the third track "Want U Around" is a simple soul jam with help from artist, Ruel. Deep down, however, the melodic runs from the bass guitar, and the vocal patterns take you on a rollercoaster that are extremely impressive. The drums in this song provide the perfect balance of simplicity and feel that allows the listener to groove to the song while appreciating the vocals.
The fifth song on the album "Hey Boy" features the Latin pop-star, Kali Uchis which brings a nice change to the rest of the record. The laid-back, quick song features many noteworthy things with some of them being the small drum solo in the middle, the call and response lyrics in the beginning, and the mystical voice of Uchis singing throughout. At the end of the track, the mystery continues when a voice comes in a very deep way, giving an instrument-like vibe to the vocal style, punching away with the drums.
The opening flamenco guitar in "Dos Uno Nueve (219)" is beautifully contrasted with the heavy bass guitar, but the guitar itself is wonderfully plucked, strummed, and played. The musicianship to make the guitar sing is flawless. The song continues to show Apollo's Latin roots with the lyrics, completely in Spanish, and is a wonderful transition and contrasting opinion from the rest of the album. Once again this song shows Omar Apollo's harmonious vocal style when sung with the background vocalists.
The production effects throughout the record are some of the most exciting aspects. The warping sound in "Stayback", the muffled guitar playing in "Useless", and the overdriven bass slightly behind the track in "Bi Fren", just to name a few, are all things that add something small to each song, but allow the listener to never get bored of listening to the tracks.
The greatest thing of Omar Apollo's debut record Apolonio, is the mix of different styles that influenced him into the musician he is today, while still keeping the sound he's known for. The production throughout the entire record is blissful, his voice is seductive, and the instruments give off fun patterns that make me want to continue to go back to listen over and over. I definitely recommend this album and maybe one day I'll learn how to sing "Dos Uno Nueve (219)" without fumbling over my Spanish...
Favorite Songs: "I'm Amazing", "Kamikaze", "Dos Uno Nueve (219)"
Least Favorite Songs: No bad songs in my opinion
Production Quality:
Mix = 10/10
Innovation = 9/10
Songwriting Quality:
Arrangement = 10/10
Lyricism = 9/10
Instrumentation Quality:
Vocal Timbre = 10/10
Instrumental Timbre = 10/10
Group Chemistry = 9/10 (No band, just producers for the most part)
Overall Likability:
My Personal Rating = 9.5/10
Overall Rating: 9.6/10
Any confusion on how the rating is weighted/calculated, please look at my "About" page.
Remember this is all my opinion! Let me know if you agree, disagree or have any comments!