Featuring singles released into the wild as far back as 2021,
Artificial Paradise
collects moments and snapshots that
Ryan Tedder
and his
OneRepublic
crew have been writing around the world from as early as 2016, orbiting a loose central idea of constructed realities that reflect the real world we live in. Conceptual shoehorn aside, these are paint-by-numbers
anthems, for better or worse. Much like their last album, 2021's
Human
,
feels like an algorithm's idea of what
should sound like in order to achieve maximal playlisting power. Which is pretty much what this album feels like: a playlist. That doesn't mean it's terrible; it's just not adding much to the equation. Nevertheless, hits are hits, and this is packed with them (especially the deluxe version, which includes singles that were each streamed over a hundred million times, such as the
David Guetta
collaboration "I Don't Wanna Wait," which interpolates
O-Zone
's early-aughts viral hit "Numa Numa"). The monstrous smash "West Coast" bounces and bobs on a funky bassline and a rousing backing chorus, cruising down the freeway on a breezy summer day; the lighthearted whistle-pop earworm "I Ain't Worried" is another showcase for
Tedder
's effortless songwriting skills (also aided by its inclusion on the
Top Gun: Maverick
soundtrack); the synth-and-Auto-Tune "RUNAWAY" propels into space like
Bruno Mars
jumping into a glittery rocket ship; and "Sunshine" provides a classic
-via-
Fitz and the Tantrums
singalong moment that is too feel-good to deny. Those four songs alone had a combined 2.5 billion (with a "b") streams at the time of this album's release. Lesser hits from an Assassin's Creed video game, the anime Kaiju No. 8, and the official UEFA EURO 2024 anthem round out the global smash hits. Elsewhere, of the previously unreleased tracks (which account for only half of the album's runtime), the cinematic opening title track, the acoustic-guitar-and-handclaps "Last Holiday" and the twinkling instrumental interlude "Singapore" add surprising heart and restraint to the assault of electro-tinged pop goodies.
knows what he's doing and, like contemporary output by
Imagine Dragons
and
Coldplay
, can pump out crowd-pleasing optimism as if he was on autopilot¿for better or worse. ~ Neil Z. Yeung