Photo by Carlos Semedo

“I’m not making the most that I should be tonight,” laments Elihu Okay with the opening lines of “A Little Money,” the first track of his new album Friday Night, his third full-length release, which came out 3/25. It’s an anthem for the age of FOMO, operating as an effective thesis for the album as a whole, as well as serving as a decent primer for the artist’s overall sound. The filtered vocals borrow from the tenets of contemporary pop with their hints of digital affectation, which is certainly Elihu’s lane. But as you continue to travel through Friday Night’s tracklist, you get more of a sense of his range. Up next, we have “Camel Crush,” which owes more to ca. 2010 indie rock anthems. 

While the genre influence varies throughout this album, everything centers on Elihu Okay’s ability as a songwriter, especially his lyricism, which reeks of mid-20s ennui, escapism, and soul-searching. “I’ve living like I’m on vacation, barely / Making money but we’re having so much fun,” he cries on “Late 2 Work,” before talking about his “solipsistic state of mind.” How far past our own noses were any of us able to see in our 20s? Even moments when we were considering someone else, were we considering them with the required empathy to understand another’s point of view, or merely as an extension of our own reality with the (false) assumption that these other people function as mere NPCs in our lives, only there to aid as accessories in our personal missions?

“Friday Night” cover art by Carlos Semedo & Elihu Okay

Speaking of empathy… “Karma” opens with the confession that Elihu thinks he “was born without empathy” and later admits that he is “scared [he is] not enough.” These lines seem to belie the crux of the issue: most often, it’s our own insecurities that prevent us from achieving a deeper connection with the people around us. While that sort of connection has never been a walk in the park for American society as a whole, it’s certainly been an evident concern post-pandemic. Friday Night was written and recorded between 2019 and 2022, a timeline that implies the album contains a spectrum of emotional reaction that is encircled by COVID-influenced anxiety. 

Despite that, Friday Night never feels hopeless. In fact, just the opposite: there is somehow an optimist in Elihu Okay, as if the expression of these frustrations and insecurities is actually… good? Yes, it’s a wild concept: talking about how you feel – yes, even the bad stuff that feels difficult to talk about – is good and healthy. Thankfully, Elihu Okay makes that sentiment sound so much better than an Instagram post or a Hallmark card or some other trite, generic medium. Friday Night proves that Elihu Okay is one of Boston’s brightest voices in indie pop. 

Stream Friday Night by Elihu Okay below on Spotify, or on the streaming platform of your choice.