Omar Apollo – ‘God Said No’
Omar returned with ‘God Said No’ this year, an album he intended to be listened from front to back. The album is an account of what followed the end of “a torrid love affair” and dubbed “a survey of emotional wreckage” by Omar himself. The wreckage he juxtapositions against pulsing synths, like when he is coming to terms with the end of the relationship before he’s ready to in ‘Less of You’ and in the dreamy ‘Drifting’.
The lead single ‘Spite’ tells of his frustrations being involved with someone long distance. The battling between wanting to be with them but almost feeling a resentment towards them at the same time: “Every time I see you in my phone / Hate that I still need you in my life”. Any one that’s experienced a similar situation will relate. It’s on the more down tempo moments that you can feel the weight of how he’s feeling. ‘While U Can’ is minimalistic with sparse production allowing Omar’s voice to shine.
‘God Said No’ is the right balance of heart shattering lyrics and how someone is moving through relationship breakdown and grief with a melodic sugar coating in the form of 80s synths and poppy guitar hooks. The counterbalance of this doesn’t make it sound as heartbreaking in your ears as the lyrics are.