Band of the week: Oh Wonder

Oh Wonder is the first band featured in Fresh Penguins "Band of the week" which is a pretty self-explanatory title. Nevertheless let's meet Oh Wonder.

Oh Wonder is a indie pop duo from London consisting of Josephine Vander Gucht and Anthony West. Their style consists of relaxing synth, soothing melodies, and drum loops. The duo started in 2014 and since then has quickly grown a large indie following. What makes Oh Wonder unique is not only their music but the marketing approach they took to self-promotion. Since 1992 no one else has done such a campaign because it is risky and easy to lose momentum. However, Oh Wonder went ahead and released just one single a month for an entire year. Oh Wonder began by releasing their first song in September 2014 and like promised released one extra each month until the next September when they released a 15 song album on the 4th. Some say this is a difficult approach for new artists as they can easily be forgotten but it clearly worked for Oh Wonder as each song was streamed on Soundcloud over 1 million times with some reaching 3 million streams on the music sharing site. They have since gone on to international success with their biggest single "Technicolour Beat" reaching over 11 million streams on Spotify. Here are Fresh Penguins top 3 favourite songs by Oh Wonder,

1. Technicolour Beat: Oh Wonders biggest success and deservedly so. The song consists of chilling melodies and an ambient atmosphere backed by synths, and a drum loop.

2. Landslide: Perhaps one of the most underrated songs by Oh Wonder and my personal favourite. Following a similar formula to the other Oh Wonder songs, the melody and musicality isn't necessarily better or unique but I'm a fan of the lyrics which capture true love through thick and thin with the proclamation of the song being "When you're caught in a landslide, I'll be there for you". What makes it that much better to me is the small fact that they sing the entire song together as if they are speaking to eachother.

3. Lose It: Although still laid back this song features groovier elements and a darker progression than most Oh Wonder songs. What makes this song great is the uniqueness compared to the rest of their catalogue while still staying true to Oh Wonder form.

Similar artists: Of Monster and Men, Eva and Manu, Phantogram, Freedom Fry

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