Peer Validated

Pictured: Really? A hippie? That’s not what I pictured at all.

I don’t know that much about Marty Anderson. I was really only introduced to his music 4 or 5 days ago. Here’s a list of the things that I do know -

1) He has Crohn’s disease. It makes him lose a ton of weight all at once and shit blood. It sounds like it’s probably the worst way to live, ever.

2) He used to play in a band called Dilute with his girlfriend Anna, but somehow she ended up engaged to another member of the band, Yosef Lewis, and Marty didn’t know about it. This also sounds terrible, but when Marty and his oversized heart formed the band Okay, he asked both Anna and Yosef to join.

3) Marty Anderson makes painfully good music.

Okay‘s new release, Huggable Dust, sounds like a soundtrack I’d put together for a subtle movie about awkward teenage lovers, or an awkward family, almost anything as long as it felt pretty awkward. Anderson’s dry, scratchy voice aches and creeks over mostly bright and charming four-chord-wonder songs. Six of the tracks are less than two minutes long and a couple clock in at seven, but regardless of length, Anderson’s use of just about every instrument in the common indie catalog keeps each of the album’s 18 songs completely engaging. I hate to compare such a standout, original artist to anyone, but his work in Okay might be described as a heartbroken, tortured and life-beaten Page France on a bad day. We only write favorable reviews on Peervalidated, because we like to show people music that we really, actually listen to and enjoy, but I’d like to make it clear that I really think this is one of the best albums I’ve found in a pretty long time. It is highly recommended, with a big stamp of Andy P approval. I’d spit in my hand and shake yours just to prove my loyalty.

Only is a perfect minute and a half of soft-pop songwriting,

Okay - Only

and Loveless gets a bit darker. “I can’t get you out my head.”

Okay - Loveless