Geoff Ong - Album Review: Maybe It’ll Be Alright
It was a hot Summer’s night, and I was crammed into the King’s Arms, waiting to see Animals as Leaders opening for Periphery, back in 2014.
Suddenly, there was an announcement over the PA. A crazy driver went straight through a stop sign, causing a 5 car collision.
Although I wasn’t in my car at the time, the force of the crash was strong enough to push my parked car into 3 others, one of those car’s being Geoff Ong’s, and that’s how we met.
As it turns out, Geoff is a seriously talented individual. He makes all of his own music videos, and he wrote, performed, and produced his debut album Maybe It’ll Be Alright all by himself.
Geoff has tremendous energy onstage, however when he speaks, he is quiet and reserved. Geoff’s passion and vulnerability is endearing, and really shines through on this album.
Maybe It’ll Be Alright is bursting with catchy, feel good tunes, that will get stuck in your head. It’s hard to put this album in a box - if I had to, I’d call it a "Pop & RNB affair, infused with jazz and retro inspired funk".
At the heart of the album lies punchy beats, punctuated baselines, uplifting synths and funky rhythm guitars. This backbone is complimented with layers of thoughtful, melodic vocal arrangements and rich harmonies.
Geoff takes you on a journey of his life’s ups and downs… there’s plenty of fun, upbeat, dance floor bangers such as Save Me The Weekend and Into You, as well as the slinky grooves in Neon Ocean and Don’t Know You No More - check out the breakdown at 2:24, Geoff hits high notes that put Mariah Carey to shame. From soulful tunes such as All The Hours through to the introspective title track Maybe It’ll Be Alright, Geoff isn’t afraid to bare his soul, and his straight up honestly is mighty refreshing.
I’d give this album 6 stars if I could, it’s that good. Geoff has clearly poured his heart and soul into this album, and the fact he has crafted it all single handedly is downright impressive. All the elements from the lyrics, songwriting, musicianship, and production all come together beautifully, in an album that I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to from start to finish. Do yourself a favour and add this album to your playlist immediately, I promise you, it’ll definitely be alright.
About Geoff Ong
Geoff’s 2018 single, Fingerprints, a shimmering slice of soulful indie pop, was recorded in his bedroom in Kingsland, with production, mixing and mastering by Phil Levine of the illustrious Igloo Music Studios in Los Angeles, who won two Grammy Awards for their work on 2016’s box office hit, La La Land.
Fingerprints made an immediate impact, peaking at #3 on the Hot NZ Singles Chart and #25 on the overall Hot Singles Top 40 Chart. It was also featured on ZM, The Edge, The Edge TV, and Radio New Zealand.
Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Geoff Ong
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