Over the past few years, there has been a rising trend of mainstream television shows featuring music by aspiring artists in lieu of typically yawn-inducing original scores. While this can certainly be an effective way to entertain the ears of viewers for a reasonable price, it has also led to the creation of a subgenre of music that often seems naked and inadequate when listened to independently of the television program.
Carey Ott is a poster child for artists in this category, as his album "Lucid Dream" suffers from its mainstream aspirations. The result is a collection of perfectly decent, albeit soulless, songs that do nothing to excite the emotions.
The album's lead track, "Am I Just One," was featured on "Grey's Anatomy" twice during the second season and is representative of the collection as a whole. Through a combination of acoustic guitar, breathless vocals and lyrics about lost love, Ott does an exemplary job of creating a relaxing track that soothes the mind. Indeed, this was the point of the track, and when it serves as a background to other activity, the effect is remarkable. On its own, however, the song feels empty and boring, and the theme of passion long gone seems cliche.
Only three of the other 11 tracks break from this trend, the best of which is "Shelf Life." Although it promotes the same tired theme, "Shelf Life" has something the other tracks lack: a hook. Its refreshingly brutal chorus - "Love is a dog fight/You're losing your shelf life" - plays a game with the ears, and it's fun to hear Ott's soothing voice take a more cynical view of love for a change.
Even though it isn't quite as different and fresh as "Shelf Life," the comparatively energetic track "I Wouldn't Do That to You" is also worthy of mention.
By far my favorite part of the whole album takes place in the last minute of the last song, "Lucid Dream." The song itself maintains the mellow, apathetic vibe of the rest of the collection, but at the very end a surprisingly strong beat picks up seemingly out of nowhere. Immediately the tone of the song changes and the vocals even appear to become a little less down, maybe even more hopeful. I wouldn't say it saves the album, but it's certainly an interesting way to go out, and I respect Ott for straying from the path in this final track.
It's tough to criticize "Lucid Dream" for accomplishing what it set out to do: make Carey Ott famous by getting his music on a television show. But despite the reality that product differentiation was never Ott's goal, it remains true that the tracks he did create lack substance, a meatiness of feeling that other musicians strive to obtain. As it is, "Lucid Dream" is exactly what it intended to be: delightful background music and not much else.
