EFFLORESCE

Are you tired of all the endless samey Indie rock that is churned out on the conveyor belt day by day, and yet sells in its millions? Keep thinking this is OK but I've heard it all before, and it has no depth?

Then Oceansize are for you!

They have transformed modern music into an entirely new sound, with awesome variety and depth. The music chops and changes, using all time signatures and discordance to great effect. And Mark Heron - what a drummer! If there's anyone who can play off-beat and with the time signatures thrown at him he can. You can see how it works when you see them play live. He commands the performance - and NOT with the stupid ridiculous fast double-bass pedalling and blast beats that horribly dominate modern metal music - all the metal fans think that to play as fast as possible is total skill. NO! It is the ability to dance on the drums and hold your audience captivated - that is the greatest skill. A few occasional bits of double bass pedalling with blasts when it is right to do so - that works. I mean you wouldn't want you guitarist to incessantly play solos. Moderation is the key in the right places. The only other drummer that can play with such skill is Porcupine Tree's Gavin Harrison, who in my opinion has transformed the band.

Anyway, back to Effloresce. I have thought long and hard about whether this deserves 4 or 5 stars (10 months in fact - after multitudinous listens!). Maybe my problem was whether this really is Progressive rock - I mean it doesn't sound anything like Genesis or Yes or ELP. It also has definite roots in modern Indie Rock, but it's massively better than any of that repeating junk. I have eventually decided to give it the full 5 stars, because their music has taken Indie rock and transformed it into something completely new - the past has been left behind. It's not trying to deliberately sound weird or avant-garde - like a lot of the old Prog rock - I'm sorry but all that just sounds cheesy and shampooed long-haired beardy-weirdy dangly-willy now. This is a new journey into the future, without being weird - and to me THAT is what Progressive music is about.

This album was my first exposure to Oceansize, and I thought it awesome - so so different - a walk on a different plane - from grace and beauty to sheer power - all the best parts of ambience and metal brought together in a totally new sound. The only thing I thought initially was that his voice sounded a little Radiohead, but I soon grew used to that and then the screaming - that works so well! - a fantastic trademark of their music. Not the horrible roaring of modern death metal. He only screams when the music takes you there, when it has built to the size of an ocean. By the way - Mike Vennart's voice has improved/ matured brilliantly - he sounds absolutely fantastic in FRAMES.

A caution for those of you that don't like metal or metal riffs. There is a lot in their music - and as such it's great to take metal fans to their gigs, because they'll like it. But this is again so different from metal music too - they use the power to a totally new and unheard of effect - and build up their music bit by bit to blow your head off and reach for the sky!

If there's any one formula in their music - it's how they build slowly (there's never any rush) from grace and quietness to awesome screaming power. I guess this is why they are called Oceansize - size of an Ocean. Some complain about this formula. BUT THEY ARE WRONG! I hope they never stop using that formula - for to me it is spectacular. I mean isn't that what we all love about Progressive music!

The Britishness of their music is lovely too. I mean - it's never cheesy. I hate cheesy music, and so much Prog unfortunately is. This is NOT cheesy. I hate music without depth. This has depth beyond imagination! I hate metal music that tries to be too fast and roaring. This is NOT like that!

And yet this mixes all those 3 - Prog, Indie and metal - to make an entirley new sound that ranks among the best.

What is sad is that their music is so unknown - I mean it outranks all the Indie music in the charts by a country mile.

I've said too much already - so I won't go through all the tracks. Just get yourself a copy, lie back and enjoy the ride into a new World! Then go see them play live if you get a chance (I appreciate this could be difficult).

NEW! MOVING! DIFFERENT! GRACE! POWER! 5 STARS!!!