Our Oceans | website | facebook | bandcamp |
Released on November 15, 2015 via Independent
The members of Our Oceans have, in their time, been members of legendary progressive metal band Cynic as well as avant-garde black metallers Dodecahedron and the instrumental band Exivious, so they definitely have served their time in acts that are both forward thinking in terms of their sound. It is the aforementioned Exivious that Our Occeans are closest to sonically, but with vocals instead of being completely instrumental. The same skill in the music and vast textures are definitely still there for those who are fans of Exivious, but the vocals of Tymon Kruidenier add an extra element with his singing, which is in turns both mellow and settling and extremely passionate.
Our Oceans play the kind of dreamlike music that can sweep you away with its blend of masterful playing (the musicianship on show here is tremendous, but that is no surprise!) and epic and progressive soundscapes.
Our Oceans are a band with absolutely nothing to prove to anyone so are doing things on their own terms and making the album they want to make with their self-titled début. The band’s sound has echoes of progressive masters like Pink Floyd (particularly on the song ‘Precarious’ which has a massive Floyd influence) and maybe a modern day Opeth here and there, but undoubtedly with their own take on things. Witness the ethereal opening track ‘What If’, the luscious ‘Turquoise’ or the majestic ‘Lioness Sunrise’ to hear the Our Oceans sound in its fullest.
Kruidenier’s vocals are warm, but urgent feel to the musical proceedings, at times sounding not unlike the late, great Jeff Buckley such is the vigour he sings with, while the rest of the band create soaring backdrops of sound for the vocals to both gently and rapidly soar over, most notably on album track ‘Illuminate’, which is a stand-out track on the album.
Our Oceans have made a great album here and this is a band that will go on to make more great music as their career goes on, there is no doubt about that and it seems as regarding their past musical endeavours, rather than letting these define Our Oceans, they have taking things from this past, but have used them to create something great in the present as well as in the future with Our Oceans.
