God Said No Explained

God Said No
Type:	studio
Artist:	Omar Apollo
Cover:	Omar Apollo - God Said No.png
Alt:	Omar sitting partially bare-chested, wearing a furry jacket and a cross necklace, looking ahead at the camera in front of a blue background.
Studio:	Abbey Road, London, UK
Length:	45:12
Label:	Warner
Producer:	Omar Apollo Teo Halm Mike Hector Carter Lang Oscar Santander Blake Slatkin Dylan Wiggins
Prev Title:	Live for Me
Prev Year:	2023

God Said No is the second studio album by American singer Omar Apollo, released on June 28, 2024, through Warner Records. It includes contributions from Mustafa and actor Pedro Pascal, and was preceded by the singles "Spite", "Dispose of Me" and "Less of You".^[1]

Background and recording

God Said No was partially recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London, and produced alongside Teo Halm, Carter Lang and Blake Slatkin.^[2]

Apollo stated that the album is a "reflection of [his] life for the past 2 years" and "doesn't feel like it's a bunch of songs put together", calling it "a sequence that is made to be listened to front to back".^[3] It was called a "survey of the emotional wreckage that followed the end of a torrid love affair" in a press release.^[4] Apollo titled the album after a remark of his own when the relationship ended, which is also intended as a play on the Spanish phrase "lo que será, será" (English for "whatever will be, will be").^[3]

Critical reception

God Said No received a score of 82 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on five critics' reviews, which the website categorized as "universal acclaim". Larisha Paul of Rolling Stone praised the album as being "an emotionally harrowing look inside the psyche of a musician wringing every drop of meaning from the old adage that great art comes from great pain".^[5]

NME reviewer Laura Molloy described the album as "Apollo's most atmospheric offering to date" and praised the "eclectic, expansive sonic palette that constantly drifts between genres yet is anchored in his diaristic musings on finite romance".^[6] In The New York Times, God Said No was selected as a NYT Critic's Pick. Reviewer Jon Pareles praised the "enduring break-up songs". He noted that the lo-fi tone of the album "suggests troubled thoughts and uncomfortable conversations, small-scale and introspective—seemingly private, not overtly theatrical".^[7]

Tour

The album will be supported by the God Said No World Tour, which includes dates in the United States, Canada, Japan, Indonesia and Australia. The tour began in Melbourne, Australia at the Festival Hall on July 15, 2024, and will conclude in San Diego, California at the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park on October 11, 2024.^[8]

Commercial performance

God Said No debuted at number 56 on the US Billboard 200 and number 14 on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart with 10,000 pure album sales and 16,000 album equivalent-units.^[9]

Track listing

Note

• signifies an additional producer

Personnel

• Omar Apollo – vocals (all tracks), Prophet synthesizer (track 9), celeste piano (13)
• Teo Halm – background vocals (tracks 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 13), synthesizer (1, 3, 5, 6, 8), drum programming (1, 12), piano (1, 13), programming (2–4, 6, 8, 14), guitar (2, 4, 5, 14), bass (2, 4, 11, 14), drums (2, 4, 11), Juno synthesizer (2, 5, 12), percussion (2, 11); Oberheim synthesizer, Roland paraphonic keyboards (3); Mellotron (4), grand piano (5, 14), Prophet synthesizer (6, 9), Wurlitzer (7, 13), upright piano (7), synthesizer programming (12); celeste piano, horns, mixing (13); organ, Minimoog, string arrangement (14)
• Carter Lang – bass, synthesizer (track 1); engineering (track 4); EMS synthesizer (10)
• Blake Slatkin – guitar, programming (tracks 2, 4); synthesizer, Wurlitzer (2); drum programming, synthesizer programming (12); engineering (tracks 2, 4, 11, 12)
• Jonah Abraham – Oberheim synthesizer (track 3)
• Mike Sabath – synth bass (track 3)
• Rob Moose – cello, viola, violin, string arrangement (tracks 4, 5, 7, 14); engineering (tracks 4, 7, 14)
• Jake Hicks – background vocals (track 4)
• Christos Stylianides – flugelhorn, lead trumpet (track 4)
• Kenneth Brown II – flugelhorn, trumpet (track 4)
• Scott Bridgeway – drum programming (track 4)
• Dylan Wiggins – guitar (track 4)
• John Mayer – guitar (track 4)
• Michael Underwood – saxophone (track 4)
• Mustafa – vocals, background vocals (track 5)
• Mark Kraus – engineering (tracks 1, 3, 11, 13), engineering assistance (4, 6, 7, 10); synthesizer programming (track 7), synthesizer (8)
• BlankFor.ms – loops and engineering (tracks 7, 14)
• Adam Krevlin – Casio keyboards (track 9)
• Mike Hector – drum programming (track 9)
• Oscar Santander – guitar (tracks 10, 11), Minimoog (14)
• Dylan Day – guitar, slide guitar (track 11)
• Mason Stoops – guitar, slide guitar (track 11)
• Sean Hurley – bass (track 11)
• Pedro Pascal – vocals (track 13)
• Dale Becker – mastering (tracks 1, 3–14)
• Mike Bozzi – mastering (track 2)
• Joe Visciano – mixing (tracks 1, 9, 10)
• Serban Ghenea – mixing (tracks 2, 4)
• Jon Castelli – mixing (tracks 3, 5–7, 11, 12, 14)
• Manny Marroquin – mixing (track 8)
• John Muller – engineering (tracks 1, 4–10, 14)
• Darren Jones – engineering (tracks 2–5, 8, 13, 14)
• Garry Purohit – engineering (tracks 8, 14)
• Nathan Phillips – engineering (tracks 9, 10)
• Paul Pritchard – engineering (track 13)
• Bryce Bordone – mix engineering (tracks 2, 4)
• Brad Lauchert – mix engineering (tracks 3, 5–7, 11, 12, 14)
• Ben Parkka – engineering assistance (tracks 1, 4, 6, 7), sound design (7)
• Jamie Sprosen – engineering assistance (tracks 2, 3, 5, 13, 14)
• Claude Vause – engineering assistance (tracks 3, 4)
• Stephanie DeAngelis – engineering assistance (track 3)
• Dani Perez – engineering assistance (tracks 5, 14)
• Annie Gasiorowski – engineering assistance (track 13)

Charts

Chart (2024)! scope="col"

Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[10]	11
US Top Rock & Alternative Albums (Billboard)^[11]	14

Notes and References

1. Omar Apollo Announces New Album God Said No. Clash. Hussain. Shahzaib. May 20, 2024. May 22, 2024.
2. Web site: Omar Apollo Details Album, Shares Video for New Song: Watch. Pitchfork. Strauss. Matthew. May 16, 2024. May 22, 2024.
3. Omar Apollo Announces Sophomore Album, God Said No. Rolling Stone. Mier. Tomás. May 15, 2024. May 22, 2024.
4. Omar Apollo has announced his second album, God Said No. Dork. Taylor. Sam. May 20, 2024. May 22, 2024.
5. Omar Apollo Is the Sweet, Moody Pop Polymath We Need. Rolling Stone. Paul. Larisha. June 24, 2024. July 3, 2024.
6. Omar Apollo – God Said No review: finding peace in fate, family and friendship. NME. Molloy. Laura. June 27, 2024. July 2, 2024.
7. News: Omar Apollo's Exquisite Heartache. The New York Times. Pareles. Jon. July 1, 2024. July 2, 2024.
8. Omar Apollo Announces He'll Launch 'God Said No' Tour This Fall. Rolling Stone. Lopez. Julyssa. June 6, 2024. June 26, 2024.
9. Caulfield . Keith . Imagine Dragons Score Sixth Top 10 on Album Sales Chart With 'Loom' Debut . Billboard . 2024-07-09 . 2024-07-22.
10. Web site: ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart. Australian Recording Industry Association. July 8, 2024. July 5, 2024.
11. Omar Apollo Chart History: Top Rock & Alternative Albums. Billboard. July 9, 2024.