Music Review: Walk Off The Earth – ‘Sing It All Away’

When you’re a band that becomes famous for doing other people’s music, it can be a tough transition to gain the audience’s trust of your original works. That was the issue for Walk Off The Earth, who struck viral gold with their YouTube cover video of Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know,” which chalked up over 160 million hits. That’s explosive exposure, and not every band is ready to take that spotlight and run with it, but lucky for them (and lucky for us), this band had it all under control.

Their most recent album, Sing It All Away, is technically their sixth original work, but for many of those YouTube fans, it may be the first they’ve released during their newfound fame. Yet this album very quickly proves them to be far more than clever copyists and cover artists. The harmonies, the melodies, and the underlying tonal theme of the album are so finely crafted that I almost forgot how good their covers are.

Overall, Sing It All Away has a distinct island pop flavor, but that comes out the most on tracks “Rule the World,” “I’ll Be Waiting,” and “We Got Love.” On that last one, the record should come with leis for everyone that buys it.

Another musical choice that appears throughout is a good whistling track. So many people are afraid of it because it can come off as trite or too novel, but Walk Off The Earth weave it in so naturally and with such an upbeat tempo on “Home We’ll Go,” “California Trees,” and “Home We’ll Go (Take My Hand)” (with Steve Aoki) that I found myself wishing I could whistle more than just a single off-balanced note.

A couple songs bring a bit more aggression, which may be a shock for those who see them as the most happy-go-lucky, chillest band in existence. “Boomerang” and “Heart Is a Weapon” turn the speakers up and lay down the law on how it is to be treated badly by your partner.

I listened to the album a handful of times before sitting down to write this review, and every time it was over, I just felt better inside. From top to bottom the experience is an uplifting one, and it’s full of songs you wish all your friends knew so you could sing them together around a bonfire. Plus, whenever there’s a bonfire, you know some guy is going to show up with a guitar. It’s inevitable.

If you’re looking for vocal harmonies that will lift your heart up out of your chest, check out Sing It All Away by Walk Off The Earth.

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