Omar Apollo - Ivory
by Zachary Marshall
Omar Apolino Velasco, professionally known as Omar Apollo, released his debut album Ivory on April 10th. Apollo has dropped several smaller projects before Ivory. Apollo's first project Stereo was released in 2018. Both EPs Friends and Apolliono were released in 2019. Omar Apollo quickly gained internet notoriety with popular tracks such as “Ugotme” and “Useless”. Apollo has mentioned multiple times that a lot of his skill was developed from online tutorials and mimicking guitarists.
Omar Apollo comes up to bat and knocks this debut album out of the park. Ivory has a palpable sense of authenticity on this album.
Apollo shows that he is capable of playing an array of genres. Each song on this album is as new and fresh as the one before it. The intro is a quick 45-second snippet of Apollo singing from the heart on “Ivory.'' Then the next track, “Talk,” is an upbeat pop-rock track that will have you rocking your head to the beat in seconds. Apollo shows he can do it all from bilingual rap songs like “Tamagotchi'' to an acoustic melt sesh like “Waiting.”
Tamagotchi- Produced by Pharell Williams and Chad Hugo
There is something to be said about Apollo keeping the features on this album light. Apollo collaborates with Daniel Cesar on the wavy “ Invincible” and the ever-charming Kali Uchis on “Bad Life.” The features are well placed and play off each other very well.
There's so much to dissect on this album. A Stand out track was "En El Olvido,'' which translates to “in oblivion.” It creates the classic yearning theme that stays concurrent with most Omar Apollo tracks. “Cariño, yo fui buen amante//En el olvido quiero dejarte” which translates to “Honey, I was a good lover// In oblivion I want to leave you”. It is a very sentimental song to listen to. “En El Olvido” captures the motifs that are central to Apollo. Yearning, vulnerability and learning through experience are all present themes in Ivory.
There's a quiet confidence that Omar Apollo has surrounded himself with. Apollo seems to be experimenting with his capabilities and also seems to be having fun doing it. Ivory is a confident first step for Omar Apollo. Confidence may be key, but proving yourself is all the more worthwhile. All we can do is hope that Omar Apollo does not fly too close to the sun.