A musician’s journey is not a clear one. For many bands, the story behind their songs is hidden behind clever metaphors and well-crafted lyrics. There is research involved. The artists choose not to tell you everything. That is fine, as consumers, we have no right to know about the private lives of any artist. Anything they let on is a gift from them to the world.

OK Go is one of those bands that stick with me, no matter what. They were one of the first bands that I had found myself, instead of my father showing them to me. They were MY band. I had found them around the time Of the Blue Color of the Sky had come out. My science teacher had shown us their Rube Goldberg music video of “This Too Shall Pass.” And I was hooked from there. I had never heard such sonic beauty, accompanied by such genius music videos. If you know OK Go, you probably know their music videos.

(You can check out that video I saw here: https://youtu.be/qybUFnY7Y8w)

The discography of OK Go piques my interest. The first two albums are ripe with punk, youthful rock music. The songs are intelligent but obviously youthful. But then the next two albums come out, and they are so different. What was once a band full of pop punk wannabes was now a love song to the likes of Prince and the Pixies. While Oh No was rocky, Of the Blue of the Color of the Sky was funky.

The changes seen through each album, at least for me, mirror Damian Kulash’s journey through love. And if they are not accurate to him exactly, then they follow a man as he goes from a brash, single, white male to a hopeful but skeptical divorcee.

Their self-titled debut, OK Go, is the story of Kulash’s journey through single life. The album feels angry and vindictive, some songs directly critical of his exes. It opens with the hard-hitting “Get Over It,” which is about as apologetic as it sounds. He seems to be addressing an ex. He says, “Makes you cry while the milk still spills / Ain’t it just a bitch? What a pain / Well it’s all a crying shame / What left to do but complain? / Better find someone to blame.” He is so angry, refusing to concede like he does in later albums.

Other songs like “You’re So Damn Hot” just seem immature. Kulash analyzes all the people he sees around him, very aware of their motivations and he doles out exactly what he thinks. All reminiscent of the punk days, angry and knowing how to say it well. For me, there is not much separating this from a Panic! At the Disco album.

Oh No is the marriage album in the story of this hopeless romantic. It is still full of plenty of young cynicism, but there are more strictly romantic songs. It is an album that looks at love and knows that it is good. Clearly, Kulash has been burned by love before. He has been women who are terrible, women who “have a million ways to be cruel.” He has to move on from women that just straight up left. The album’s sound does not depart much from the debut album, but is approaching a level of intimacy and optimism that is contagious.

Amidst all the cynicism and broken hearts, this man can still find love. The last track is a hidden one called “9027 KM.” It is not an actual song. It is a recording of Kulash’s sleeping girlfriend, who was apart from him during the recording of this album. The title is a reference to the distance between Los Angeles and Malmö, Sweden, where the album was recorded. Even though Kulash comes off a skeptical man, this last-minute addition is so adorable that it is hard to believe he is as hard hearted as he lets on.

Now here comes the big shift. OK Go goes from punk rockers to the love child of Prince and the Pixies, and what came out is Of the Blue Color of the Sky. There is so much more distortion and electronic sound, working to create something psychedelic and really freaking weird. I imagine the longtime fans were very confused when this album came out. But the big shift in this album makes much more sense when you know a little about Kulash’s personal life. This album came after a hard and lengthy divorce from his girlfriend during the recording of Oh No.

Initially, this album seems like it should be the most cynical and angry of them all. But the album is full of yearning and pain. He knows what went wrong, he knows that this is for the better. Kulash seems so humbled by the experience that he can no longer be just a cynical, single man. He was in love, and now he’s not. In “Needing/Getting” he quietly says, “When? When? Why not now? Why not me? Why not me?” He just cannot comprehend what the hell happened here. One of the last songs, “While You Were Asleep,” feels like his final plea. One last ditch effort. “Can’t you love me? / Can’t you love me? / How I want, please / How I want.”

Every romance has a falling action. Everyone must move on from their turmoil and find something better and eventually the right person for them. Hungry Ghosts is the moving on album. The album is hopeful, that something better is coming. Obviously, getting divorced sucked. But life does not end here. This Too Shall Pass.

The album is still mostly somber, lyrically. It is just as energetic as any other OK Go album, but it is just not as joyous. The songs are optimistic, somehow Kulash has adopted a more positive outlook on love by going through one of the worst things that love can bring you. Songs like “I Won’t Let You Down,” “Bright as Your Eyes,” and “If I Had A Mountain” are just purely romantic and lovely. They are joyous, perhaps some of the few songs with no inkling of cynicism. The album is so personal and revealing. Kulash does not hide his feelings. He just wants everyone to know how love is still worth it, even after all this crap he has gone through.

The discography of OK Go, up to this point has been the story of a love-struck man as he navigates life. He goes from cynical to hopeful, after finally having to grow up. Kulash himself admits that he does not relate much to the songs in the first two albums. Of course, they don’t, he has grown up so much. Sometimes, that’s just how it works. Love changes us. Always for the better.

Go check out the band here:

Photo from: http://www.interlochen.org/sites/default/files/OK-Go884x497-Update.jpg