Perhaps it’s the fact that John Edney and Big B, the band’s vocals, have chosen to sing with rapcore style voices that tend to sound like a loud whisper. They’re singing voices are good, but nothing to rave about. Big B and John Edney are accomplished in matching the tone of their voices with the mood of the song, changing from voices of disappointment to a voice full of love for a woman.
The overall image of OPM is of a bunch of drug dealing and gun carrying punks. But once the album begins and the songs start talking about love for eternity and staying faithful, it turns the band’s hard and tough exterior into soft and sentimental individuals who want to be loved just as much as the next person. Whether the breaking down of the OPM’s image is a good or bad thing is up to the listener. But in a lot of ways, this makes the album a finer listen, something that wouldn’t be offensive to a large group of people.
Playing this album at a get together is what is probably most fitting for an album like “California Poppy.” The band has taken a combination of easy flowing vocals, a reggae infused sound, a touch of smooth ska, and mixed it in with a whole lot of pop. As a result, OPM is a catchy and addictive listen, but one that doesn’t necessarily get better with each listen because OPM puts it all out there right from the start. “California Poppy” isn’t necessarily new or full of wonderful lyrics. Their music is honest though, groovy, and definitely worth listening to once or twice, but not a necessity in the music collection.
Blame the lack of rave reviews on the act the act that OPM has to follow. After all, Sublime both invented and perfected the formula for their music. So even though it may not be the most profound album of the year, “California Poppy” is still an awesome album to play in the background when you’re chilling with your friends and having a good time.
"California Poppy" is on sale November 30, -0001 from Suburban Noize.
