''Oliver Appropriate'' is the eighth studio album by American rock band

Say Anything Say Anything may refer to: Film and television * '' Say Anything...'', a 1989 American film by Cameron Crowe * "Say Anything" (''BoJack Horseman''), a television episode Music * Say Anything (band), an American rock band ** ''Say Anything'' (al ...

released on January 25, 2019 via

Dine Alone Records Dine Alone Records is a Canadian and American record label, founded in St. Catharines and Toronto by Joel Carriere. The label is now based in Toronto, Nashville and Los Angeles. History Dine Alone was born out of founder Joel Carriere's home ...

. The album is a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

and purported sequel to the band's second full-length album, '' ...Is a Real Boy'', which follows the narrator of said album and his struggles with sexuality.

Background

Following the anniversary tour for

In Defense of the Genre ''In Defense of The Genre'' is the third studio album by American rock band Say Anything. The album artwork was provided by Jeff Smith, an artist primarily known for his work on the ''Bone'' comic series. Background and production Writing and pl ...

, the band announced their signing to Dine Alone Records and that they were working with

Will Yip William Yip ( Chinese: 葉浩仁; born February 18, 1987) is an American record producer, audio engineer, songwriter and musician. Yip is an owner of Studio 4 Recording in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Yip is also the owner of Memory Music, an indep ...

on a new LP. On August 16, 2018, frontman

Max Bemis Maxim Adam Bemis (; born April 6, 1984) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and primary songwriter of the rock band Say Anything (band), Say Anything. He sang alongside Chris Conley (musician), Chris Conley in the Supergroup ...

released a 10-page PDF statement in which he announced plans to end the band and to release an eighth and possibly final album with no supporting tour. The origin of the album came about after Bemis discovered the Indie rock band

Museum Mouth Museum Mouth is a band that originated in Southport, North Carolina, in 2009. It consists of three members: Karl Kuehn who also played in the band Family Bike (drums, vocals), Kory Urban (bass), and Morgan Roberts (guitar). Originally, Savannah L ...

through their third studio album "Alex I Am Nothing." Bemis connected with the album's concept of a man's unrequited love of a straight guy. Through front-man, Karl Kuehn's, song-writing Bemis was inspired to create the character of Oliver as well as publicly coming out as bisexual.

Concept

The character of "Oliver" is said by Bemis to be loosely based on himself. He is the singer of a burnt-out "emo/indie punk" band past their peak who cheats on his girlfriends and parties to the point of hurting himself and those around him. The album chronicles two days in Oliver's life starting with him waking up hungover, falling in love with a guy named Karl (based on Kuehn) and rejecting him due to being in denial about his own sexuality. After he loses his job on the second day he seeks out Karl who then rejects him, leading him to murder him and then drown himself tied to his corpse and a large stone.

Critical reception

''Oliver Appropriate'' received generally favorable reviews according to

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which assigns a normalized rating out reviews from mainstream publications. In a four-star review from Sarah Jamieson with

DIY Magazine ''DIY'' is a United Kingdom-based music publication, in print and online. Its free print edition is released monthly with a physical circulation of 40,000 in UK venues, clubs and shops. DIY Magazine ''DIY'' was launched in 2002 by then-editor ...

she said that "the band yet again manage to navigate the realms of pointedly apt social commentary with a razor sharp wit." She also said the album was a more intimate journey than " ...Is a Real Boy" and that it is "flecked with tales of weakness and failure, beauty and humour." Rob Mair from Upset Magazine described the album is being "full of solid gold pop-songs" However, in a more mixed review, Arielle Gordon from

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

described the record’s plotline as "muddied and morally ambiguous at best". ''

Loudwire ''Loudwire'' is an American online media magazine that covers news of hard rock and heavy metal artists. It is owned by media and entertainment business Townsquare Media. Since its launch in August 2011, ''Loudwire'' has secured exclusive i ...

'' named it one of the 50 best rock albums of 2019.

Track listing

Personnel

According to

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

. *

- lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass * Karl Kuehn - drums, vocals *

- bass, drums, engineering, mastering, mixing, percussion, producer, programming *

Sherri DuPree Sherri DuPree (born December 3, 1983) is a musician, singer, songwriter and guitarist from Texas. She is one of the primary vocalists and songwriters for the band Eisley. DuPree is also a guest vocalist for many other projects, as well as a vis ...

- vocals * Brianna Collins - vocals * Coraline Bemis - vocals * Lucy Bemis - vocals * Jonathan Simmons - vocals * Justin Anstotz - assistant engineer * Phillip Odom - assistant engineer *

Vince Ratti Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer (often referred to as simply Zolof) were an American pop rock band that originated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania through core members Vince Ratti and Rachel Minton alongside Anthony Green. Their music, defined ...

- mixing

Chart performance

References

{{Authority control 2019 albums Say Anything (band) albums Dine Alone Records albums Albums produced by Will Yip 2010s concept albums