I’m not a die-hard OK Go fan. For years I’d read that power pop lovers should love their work, particularly their early albums. But I didn’t hear it. Creative indie rock, yes. Complex and innovative for sure but less focused on melody that my tastes usually desire. Basically, I’d put them in that modern music experimental camp I associate with Television and things that weren’t singles from the Talking Heads. Of course, they do know how to make a you-can’t-stop-watching-it music video. All this is to say that album #6 from Ok Go threw me for a loop. And the Adjacent Possible had me humming the tunes long after the last song hit the run out groove. Like me, you may have just tuned in for another fab OK Go video and there no denying “Love” is up to their usual videographic standards. But trust me, you’re gonna want to stick around for the non-video tracks this time.

Opening cut “Impulse Purchase” kicks off with a Portugal The Man kind of impact but quickly shifts to a carefully calibrated Tally Hall vibe. The precision on the performance and production here is pretty stellar. Then “A Stone Only Rolls Downhill” offers up a lilting lush feel where a melodica solo pops in with a bracing vibrancy. A slight hint of Wings circa 1976 appears here. Next up is “Love,” the aforementioned elaborate video single but don’t let the visuals obscure how this song really can stand on its auditory merits. From here the record delves into a variety of musical styles, all stamped with Ok Go’s distinctive sound. “Fantasy vs. Fantasy” initially seems like a vintage throwback but for the crisp modern production. There’s slow soul ballads (“This is How It Ends”) and solid dance struts (“Take Me With You”). “Better Than This” contrasts wonderfully melodic arcs with stop and start dance grooves. I hear a touch of Abbey Road “Going Home” and bit of that intimate Kate Bush/Peter Gabriel “Don’t Give Up” demeanor marking the aching “Don’t Give Up Now.” Listen to the orchestrated cacophony that is “Golden Devils” with its Queen-like mischievous mix of mannered pop. Singalong should-be AM pop single? Definitely “Once More With Feeling.”

It’s nice to be surprised by artists you’ve respected but not necessarily charted their every career move. With And the Adjacent Possible Ok Go move up my ‘pay attention to these guys’ list, delivering a summer 2025 constant rotation long-player.