Oh Wonder

London-based duo Oh Wonder produces ethereal adult-alternative electro-pop characterized by matched vocal delivery. What began as a monthly songwriting drill yielded their 2015 self-titled debut of keyboard-and-drum-machine material, which reached charts in the U.K. and multiple other countries. Subsequent releases broadened the sonic range with analog synthesizers, strings, and live drums, resulting in the brighter Ultralife (2017) and No One Else Can Wear Your Crown (2020). The streak continued when conflict-themed 22 Break entered the U.K. album chart for a fourth time in 2021, followed the next year by the unanticipated companion album 22 Make.

Songwriters Anthony West and Josephine Vander Gucht launched the project in September 2014 by composing, recording, and issuing one track each month for twelve months, ultimately assembling the results into a home-recorded, downtempo full-length. The collection, titled Oh Wonder, was finished and posted online in early September 2015. By that point the act had already become a viral phenomenon, accumulating millions of streams and securing prominent domestic radio exposure. They secured a Republic Records contract and sold out concerts in London, Paris, Amsterdam, Los Angeles, and New York City prior to the album’s release and without any prior public performances. The debut later climbed into the Top 30 in both the U.K. and Canada while also appearing on charts in Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United States, where it reached number 80 on the Billboard 200.

Their first album conceived as such from the outset, Ultralife featured an expanded instrumental palette and more upbeat mood. Self-produced once again, the set appeared on Island/Republic in mid-2017, peaking at number eight in the U.K. and number 76 in the U.S. Further touring ensued, including several North American support dates for Beck in 2018. New material from a third album surfaced in 2019; again self-produced, No One Else Can Wear Your Crown emerged in February 2020 as another buoyant effort. A global tour followed a series of intimate U.K. record-store appearances that same month.

Pandemic restrictions halted live activity, prompting the 2020 EP Home Tapes. After navigating that period without disbanding, the duo issued the dual-perspective “breakup album” 22 Break in October 2021. The following year brought 22 Make, an optimistic counterpart that included the singles “Magnificent” and “Fuck It I Love You.”