''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'' (alb ...

released on January 25, 2019 via

Dine Alone Records Dine Alone Records is a Canadian and American independent 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 Car ...

. The album is a concept album 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, the band announced their signing to Dine Alone Records and that they were working with

Will Yip Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and wil ...

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

Max Bemis Maxim Adam Bemis (born April 6, 1984) () is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer, primary composer and primary lyricist of the band, Say Anything, before their hiatus in 2018. He sang alongside Chris Conley in the ...

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 Le ...

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 a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

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

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described the record’s plotline as "muddied and morally ambiguous at best". '' Loudwire'' 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 music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

. *

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

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

Sherri DuPree Sherri DuPree-Bemis (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-Bemis is also a guest vocalist for many other projects, as w ...

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

Chart performance

References

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