Oh, What a Life is the debut studio album by American indie rock band American Authors. The album was released by Island Def Jam label Mercury Records on March 3, 2014. The album serves as a replacement to the band's eponymous 2013 extended play, American Authors.
American Authors first formed in 2006 in Boston, Massachusetts as The Blue Pages. The members of the band first met at the Berklee College of Music. The Blue Pages, after relocating to New York City, New York, recorded and independently released two extended plays, Anthropology in February 2011, and Rich With Love in January 2012, as name-your-price albums on online music store Bandcamp.
In 2012, The Blue Pages changed their name to American Authors. Their debut single, "Believer," garnered attention through alternative rock radio. In January 2013, the band were signed to Mercury Records.
Oh, What A Life received mixed to positive reviews from critics. James Christopher Monger writing for AllMusic said of the album: âÂÂWhether they're mining the handclap-happy "Hey Ho" antics of the aforementioned Lumineers ("Luck"), rounding off the already polished edges of pop-punk with a little banjo ("Heart of Stone"), or simply repurposing big-moment group vocal-led Arcade Fire-isms (everywhere), they're doing it on their own, very shrewd terms, and without the cruel restrictions of subtlety.âÂÂ
Mark Grondin from Spectrum Pulse gave the album 7/10, singling out the tracks âÂÂLuckâÂÂ, âÂÂTroubleâÂÂ, âÂÂLoveâÂÂ, and âÂÂHeart Of Stoneâ for praise.
All songs written by Zac Barnett, James Shelley, Dave Rublin, Matthew Sanchez, Shep Goodman, and Aaron Accetta, except where noted. All tracks produced by Goodman and Accetta.
American Authors
Additional personnel