Of the Blue Colour of the Sky

OK Go is known more for matching outfits and stylized music videos than for their brand of L.A. power-pop.

So it's a bit surprising that the band has chosen to do Of the Blue Colour of the Sky, its first studio release since 2005, as a concept album. (The name comes from an 1876 book about the supernatural healing power of blue light.) Colour opens with "WTF," a stab of white funk led by Damian Kulash's writhing, Prince-like falsetto. The triumphant anthem "This Too Shall Pass" borrows heavily from Bob Marley's "Soon Come," while the burned-out disco of "White Knuckles" recalls Depeche Mode. There's a welcome dark edge to OK Go this time around too, both lyrically ("I want you so bad/I can't breathe") and in the band's generous use of vocal reverb. If color does have the conceptual power to heal, in this case it's probably on the dance floor.