Oceans is a Chicago-based act that has been honing their skills since 2005. I had never heard of them before but I immediately liked the packaging of “Nothing Collapses” with its screen-printed recycled chipboard case. So it was all looking good for my first encounter! Onto the music…
It takes these guys up to track four to throw in some vocals but it’s an enjoyable wait. Opener “Lit Up Under Streetlights” kicks up a storm Mogway-style. The rest of the tracks are more mellow, not too different from what Explosions In The Sky or Gravehurst are doing. These dudes are not anti-vocals like they aptly prove in the abovementioned “Boy Detective”, even ending the song with some pretty cool gang vocals. Singalongs with an instrumental band? Sure, why not!
If you’re into instrumental guitar-noodling like the bands I mentioned in the previous paragraph, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t immediately grow fond of Oceans. It’s easy to lose your listeners when you’re playing 8-minute instrumental tracks but somehow these guys manage to keep me interested all the way through. Considering this is the band’s debut, you can call me mildly impressed.
Score: 7 out of 10
http://www.copperlungrecords.com
http://www.myspace.com/broceans
No comments:
Post a Comment