Oh Wonder is the debutstudio album by alt-pop duo Oh Wonder, self-released on 4 September 2015. The album is the accumulation of singles released monthly throughout 2014–2015, in addition to two unreleased songs.
Background
Starting in September 2014, Anthony West and Josephine Vander Gucht wrote, recorded and released one song on the first of every month for a year on SoundCloud. They have described the creation and release of their debut album as nontraditional, stating that the album consists of fifteen singles and was never conceived as an entire record. The debut album consisted of all thirteen songs, as well as two additional songs, "Without You" and "Plans". The album was written, produced and mixed by West and Vander Gucht in their home studio in South-East London in 2014–2015. The album has sold over 500,000 copies worldwide and amassed in excess of 500 million streams. It has been certified silver in the UK, gold in Canada and platinum in both Russia and the Philippines.
Critical reception
Oh Wonder received mixed to positive reviews from critics. Serena Weiss of The Ithacan hailed the album as "simplistically stunning" and "hauntingly beautiful", while praising the chemistry between Gucht and West. Music critic Abby Jefers described the albums creation story as “unique” and the music as “astounding.” Marcus Floyd of Renowned for Sound described the album as "airy" and "refreshing."
Usage in media
The song, "All We Do," was featured in the opening credits of the 2015 ITVcrime dramaUnforgotten, at the end of "Miss Taken", an episode of CBS drama Elementary, in an episode of Coronation Street, and in the 2015 MTV American slasher horrorScream. Scream also featured the song “Shark” in season 1 episode 2, and “Technicolor Beat” in season 1 episode 5. The song "Drive" was used in the pilot episode of the 2015 BBC dramaDoctor Foster. “White Blood" was featured in season 3 episode 2 of The CW drama Reign. The first verse of the song "Landslide" was sampled in rapper Lil Uzi Vert's song "The Way Life Goes" from his album Luv Is Rage 2, as well as retaining some of the original vocals, therefore Oh Wonder are credited as featured artists on the song.
