Working hard as a young singer-songwriter for many years, following a breakthrough in 2020, Joy Oladokun has become a well-known act on the music scene. Touring with Hozier in 2024, Oladukun has also recorded with the likes of Mt. Joy (“Friends”), Manchester Orchestra (“You At The Table”), Chris Stapleton (“Sweet Symphony”), and Noah Kahan (“We’re All Gonna Die”) to name a few. Impressive, after a good run entrenched in the Nashville music scene, the latest studio album, Observations From a Crowded Room, is a step away from the buzz of music for a vulnerable look inside.
Released on October 18, 2024, through Amigo Records/Verve Forecast/Republic Records, the fifteen-song release has no cited features and is Oladokun breaking new ground and defining a world independently. Oladokun’s fourth overall album is also self-produced, and with that comes the freedom to explore and create authentic music. This has resulted in a sound that seems to heal the singer as it is playing music motivated by care for the sound itself and love of the world… not for an audience of hopeful listeners.
In all, it is Folk music with calming affirmations that do not fear revealing the dark sides of life. The spaces between each song feel powerful instead of unwarranted. The observations make the album an experience of Oladokun’s self-exploration and expressing that to the listeners. Letting you find your form of happiness through the turbulence of living, the power of this music is in Oladokun’s inability to find real peace. Oladokun searches for answers in every song and asks others for help, but in the end, only she can set herself free. Realizing the truth about her problematic life is what allows her to become a better person.
This message is what makes Observations From a Crowded Room’s uplifting sound and soothing choral backing feel impactful. There is hope in the song “Drugs” through its sound even with Oladokun singing, “the drugs don’t work, oh I can’t get high,” and “my friends don’t call unless they need a ride.” However, the power is not in the lyrics, but in the contradicting sound. There is catharsis in this singer realizing the problem, this is the start of becoming better. These themes are prevalent throughout the whole album which starts in an exceedingly dark place and slowly morphs to a point of freedom and happiness. That stated this is not an album that is trying to end cleanly. The melancholia is deep throughout the entire listen and the ending song “Goodbye” is a little too sad to be classified as bittersweet. What form of love ends with someone saying, “Who knows what waits for us at the end of the fire? Just let it burn, it’s only goodbye”?
The answer is hidden in the music that precedes this final track. A love that is weak at times, broken from an impossible past, believing while unable to believe, and scared of wasting time. Oladokun’s love fears change yet craves to get better. It is the lifeforce of the album and you can hear it morph and revert with each new track. For example, “No Country” asks to be completely remade after being burnt to the ground while “Flowers” touts feelings of standing strong despite the world watching you burn.
Musically, Observations From a Crowded Room is tethered to Oladokun’s emotional release through the spoken word excerpts “Observation #1,” “Observation #2,” and “Observation #3.” This does not make it a concept album, but its tracks are hard to separate from the whole work of art. Like taking the nose from a sculpture to examine it instead of seeing how it fits into the entire face, taking one song from the album alone turns it into something that it is not. By themselves, these feel like calls for help with subpar songwriting over a folksy guitar. The words of each song turn into an essay on emotion when they are put together. There is repetition and symbolism with vices and friendship that is created when songs like “Am I, Hollywood,” and “Good Enough” are listened to together.
Overall, Joy Oladokun’s Observations From a Crowded Room is direct, soulful, and refreshing with new sounds for the singer that hit hard. In enough words, it leaves you with exactly what an introspective song should. A taste for more and a realization that only reveals more questions about yourself. For these reasons, Cryptic Rock gives Observations From a Crowded Room 4 out of 5 stars.
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