Onerepublic - Artificial Paradise

Featuring singles released into the wild as far back as 2021, Artificial Paradise collects moments and snapshots that Ryan Tedder and his OneRepublic crew have been writing around the world from as early as 2016, orbiting a loose central idea of constructed realities that reflect the real world we live in. Conceptual shoehorn aside, these are paint-by-numbers OneRepublic anthems, for better or worse. Much like their last album, 2021's Human, Artificial Paradise feels like an algorithm's idea of what OneRepublic should sound like in order to achieve maximal playlisting power. Which is pretty much what this album feels like: a playlist. That doesn't mean it's terrible; it's just not adding much to the equation. Nevertheless, hits are hits, and this is packed with them (especially the deluxe version, which includes singles that were each streamed over a hundred million times, such as the David Guetta collaboration "I Don't Wanna Wait," which interpolates O-Zone's early-aughts viral hit "N