Artist: Wow, Okay, Cool
Album: If This Is Where It Got Us, What Good Is It?
Release: September 04, 2026; Self Release
For time immemorial, art and music have always been at the heart of protest. As fun as escapism is, there is nothing more important than being aware of what’s going on right now. Wow, Okay, Cool’s album “If This Is Where It Got Us, What Good Is It?” is just the tip of the Shit To Be Angry About iceberg. Maybe even just a crystalized raindrop on the tip of the tip.
Unabashed yelling and incredibly raw, ITIWIGU, WGII is a lesson in old-school punk. The unpolished realness is its selling point. There is definitely a sort of nostalgia to the DIY style that hasn’t been a staple mainstream punk music in at least a decade. No one just vents their frustrations into a microphone like they used to.
Coming in as number one on my fave songs list is “Indie Industrial Sleaze Complex”. While I don’t have experience inside the indie music industry as an artist, I’ve seen some of the bands that built their fanbase on the idea of being poor and relatable and hating the rich only to get rich and gut music journalism within an inch of its life. Even amongst the fanbases, we have all encountered the person who cosplays poverty but falls into the comfort of their family’s money and privilege at the end of the festival weekend. Safe to say, this song touched a sore spot in me. It’s also weirdly catchy.
Khakis and boat shoes aside, “Harupex” being placed right after Indie Sleaze Industrial Complex, with its W.B. Yeats excerpt, is its own special brand of genius. At first, I didn’t get it. But wouldn’t leaving this fucked up circus be just another form of privilege that avoids the larger problem? Some of us are in it until the whole thing implodes. Willingly or not.
Tragic Symptom of being chronically online or intentional stroke of artistic genius, “Fuck, That’s Bleak” reminds me of either the infamous “Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV.” cognitive test or the one R.E.M song. Either way, it’s like a fucked up word association game where every word connects to a government official.
Really I could go through each song on the album and tell you the ways in which it’s good. At that point, you should probably just listen to it and decide for yourself. Maybe it’ll get you thinking and getting angry as well. Or maybe you already are-
Upset about literally everything going on in the world right now. Wow, Okay, Cool wants you to know that you’re not alone in that feeling. In a way it’s kind of inspiring. Anyone could channel their anger into any kind of art and that’s beautiful.
My two favorite things in the world are the word milquetoast and dunking on dipshit libs. Which means that this was a strong album right from the start as the first song is literally called “Milquetoast Libs (and the Fascists Who Love Them)”. As someone who loves playing Six Degrees of Fascism, people who play polite to keep the peace really fucking bug me.
Punch Nazis and listen to Wow, Okay, Cool.