Ocean Grove, Aussie’s Odd World Heroes
For the past half-decade, Australia has becoming a landmark country for giving the world some of the heaviest, most innovating artists in the World. Between metalcore titans Parkway Drive, The Amity Affliction and In Hearts Wake, just to name a few, as well as labels UNFD and Resist paving the way for some of these awesome bands, there is no denying that there is something special about that island!
Ocean Grove are now part of a long list of bands who are changing the scene and making it their own, as the release earlier this month of debut album “The Rhapsody Tapes” has been turning heads around the globe, with something the band dubs as “Odd World music”.
For a better understanding of who are Ocean Grove, a quick read of The Rhapsody Manifesto is a good start, where the collective cuts through the bull-crap and tells the universe what are their ideals at an almost religious level. While some may call it a gimmick, this is clearly a statement from people who have had enough of the nonsense that the traditional music industry tends to bring along.
But that’s only the start. The band, whom have been together since 2010, have set out to create a legacy of their own and there’s nothing in this world able to stop them.
While their 2015 EP “Black Label” was certainly a sign of things to come, it’s with the music video for single “Intimate Alien” that drew attention to what they were doing. Something amazing was coming soon and we wouldn’t even know what hit us.
Filled with details from the universe they’ve created, staring the intriguing character Donny Kershaw, played by the albums producer and EDM legend Running Touch, who uses the character to express himself, the music video contains a few wonderful Easter Eggs for hardcore fans to find. It’s obvious Ocean Grove want to leave an unforgettable impression, and rightfully so.
Come the beginning of February, the full album was unleashed to public and critical acclaim, having debuted at #5 on the ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) Charts. Not bad for a couple of kids who not so long ago were mixing albums in their drummers bedroom, before UNFD came along and gave them a chance for world domination.
It’s hard to define “The Rhapsody Tapes”. Between the heavy guitars and the screaming, in contrast there are a few mellow tracks and anthems that balance it out perfectly, making this an album for anyone with an open mind.
While “Odd World music” might have started during the writing process of the album, with Running Touch at the helm, the electronic eerie tracks throughout the record were being composed using Ableton, a dance composition software, that then gets infused with their music, creating what frontman Luke Holms calls “A genre for the misfits of the world.”
As you can imagine, this album isn’t one that falls into one category and while the bigger picture tells a story, all 12 tracks that compose the album are perfectly able to stand in their own right.
The record does contain its energy with its high and lows, like “Thunderdome”, “These Boys Light Fires” and “When You’re This High You Can Say What You Like”, all of which are busy getting you pumped, following by “Hitachi”, a track that’s so chill, that allows the album to slowly fade and burn out, leaving the listener with a sense of having heard something like never before.
All this mixed along epic interludes, that are also important pieces of this journey and allow them to work as a palate cleanser, giving you a moment to take in the song you heard before.
As Ocean Grove slowly take over the world, for now they’ll be touring in Australia, alongside Architects, while putting out more videos and giving the world a chance to be part of the universe they created. Sooner or later, they’ll crossover to Europe and before we know it, they’ll have done a world tour that nobody will ever forget.
Have you heard Ocean Grove? If so, what did you think? Let me know in the comments!
Originally published at creators.co on February 23, 2017.