Let OCEANSIZE do the talking first:
It's all about fitting in, apparently. Remember the best (actually the worst) days of your life? Wear the wrong pair of trainers and your school-day would become a living hell. It's easy to become part of the crowd, to blend in seamlessly with everyone else. But not when you're wearing trainers bought from Castleford Market. When OCEANSIZE quietly crept into a Manchester music scene that was still doggedly hanging onto its glory (?) days and...
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Let OCEANSIZE do the talking first:
It's all about fitting in, apparently. Remember the best (actually the worst) days of your life? Wear the wrong pair of trainers and your school-day would become a living hell. It's easy to become part of the crowd, to blend in seamlessly with everyone else. But not when you're wearing trainers bought from Castleford Market. When OCEANSIZE quietly crept into a Manchester music scene that was still doggedly hanging onto its glory (?) days and into a British music scene that was still trying to shag Britpop’s mouldy corpse, nobody noticed. One word stood out in the review for their first EP in the UK’s leading music comic: Preposterous. OCEANSIZE were still wearing those shit trainers.
When that difficult second album came around it was time to try and fit in. A more diverse collection of songs adorned “Everyone Into Position” and it contained two (gasp) singles. Support tours with the likes of Biffy Clyro, The Cooper Temple Clause and Cave In helped spread the word but you know what lads? You're still wearing those shit trainers. You can't blame the music press, why on earth would a magazine feature five normal looking blokes wearing shit trainers when they could feature some really cool looking blokes wearing fucking ace trainers! After all, we only had our music to talk about and that's not enough!! You need good trainers!! After losing a bass player and a manager (they're not dead) OCEANSIZE were cast adrift and floated for a while. And then Steven burst into the room and shouted: “I'm your fucking bass player now! Check out my trainers!” - They were even worse.
OCEANSIZE's third album was released in 2007 and the band had come to the happy conclusion that fitting in was just not for them. “Frames” contained eight tracks with an average length of 8.13625 minutes. Preposterous indeed. The next year OCEANSIZE celebrated their tenth anniversary with three special “album” shows. The whole sold out crowd was wearing shit trainers. So we come to 2010 and OCEANSIZE's fourth album, “Self Preserved While The Bodies Float Up”. If you're expecting classic 'Size then you'll be disappointed, this is a new refined OCEANSIZE, a more concise OCEANSIZE, a more mature OCEANSIZE. But those trainers? Still shit.
OCEANSIZE, June 2010
Still, we know that there are people interested in the facts and figures:
Superball Music are pleased to announce the imminent release of a new studio album from OCEANSIZE, “Self Preserved While The Bodies Float Up”. The band have also announced a full European tour throughout September and October 2010. One of the UK’s true innovators, OCEANSIZE have carved a unique place for themselves in the music scene. Previous albums “Effloresce, “Everyone Into Position” and “Frames”, recent DVD “Feed To Feed” and a series of EP’s have been hugely critically acclaimed. This acclaim, in part recognition that OCEANSIZE look to do things differently to the mainstream. The sound is progressive but never forgets the importance of good songs. OCEANSIZE remain a powerful force in the alternative UK scene – still playing to 1500 capacity venues.
What does OCEANSIZE sound like? To answer that, we'd need to start coughing out logic-free pseudophilosophical analogies. If it matters to you, OCEANSIZE loves texture, dimension, fucking about with time, discord, dissonance, the element of surprise and (sometimes) taking a long time to make a point. “Self Preserved While The Bodies Float Up” is yet another progression in OCEANSIZE’s stunning catalogue.
From the out of kilter timings of “SuperImposer” to gentle layers of “Build Us A Rocket Then…” from the lush melodies of “Silent / Transparent” to the brutal riffing of “Part Cardiac”, OCEANSIZE are a band who remain unique – defying conventions to produce engaging and beguiling rock music. Driving rhythms overlaid with beautifully crafted multi-instrumentalism and the unique voice of Mike Vennart. The album was produced by OCEANSIZE in their very own Ornamental Studios in Manchester, mixed by Chris Sheldon (Biffy Clyro, Foo Fighters, The Pixies, Therapy?) and mastered at the legendary Abbey Road Studios. OCEANSIZE are a hugely accomplished live act – supporting acts as diverse as Porcupine Tree, Coheed & Cambria, Smashing Pumpkins and Biffy Clyro in addition to sold out headline shows. The band are set to tour Europe in September, October and November 2010.
Mike Vennart is currently on the road with Biffy Clyro as their touring guitarist. “Self Preserved While The Bodies Float Up” will be released as a standard Jewelcase, a Special Edition Mediabook incl. a bonus-track as well as Gatefold LP incl. the entire album on CD.
Domestic
