EFFLORESCE

Called progressive against their own will, Oceansize's music is nevertheless packed with progressive tendencies and bears many similarities to prog-related indie like Radiohead and to emotive prog like Riverside and Porcupine Tree. Of course their music has nothing to do with playing faster then what the human ear can follow, nor with music that does reproductions of old progrock glories, nor with any definition of Progressive Rock that concentrates on style and form. Oceansize is a modern rock band that takes in whatever idea, influence or sound that fits their songs, just like King Crimson, Genesis or Yes did in their time.

For all those reasons I would really want to love them with all my heart, but regardless how overwhelmed I was in the beginning, this debut suffers from a typical child disease called too many ideas. It makes the album both hard to sit through in one go and diminishes the overall quality with repeated listens. The problem is that some songs are too long for their own good and that the entire 75 album overstays its welcome.

There is spectacular material aplenty though, like One Day, You Wish, Saturday Morning Breakfast Show. Oceansize are named after a song by Jane's Addiction (one of those early 90's bands that screamed prog at me from the first time I heard them) and sonic outbursts as in Saturday Morning Breakfast Show or as in Massive Bereavement are a clear indication of their influence. Other songs like Remember Where You are and Amputee offer too much of the same and distract from this band's obvious talents.

Oceansize's debut is an impressive album, mixing an equal part of post-rock, emo, indie and modern progressive rock that lovers of Porcupine Tree, Anathema or Radiohead should lend their ear too. It could have been a 5 star 60 minute album, but it has become a 75 minute 4 star. I'm sure some people will say that's mathematically the same thing but music is no math for me, this album suffers under the bulk of material and would have greatly benefited from careful editing.

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