The Boxer Rebellion have been another band who I've desperately wanted to review but when life, the universe and everything gets in the way and there then new releases are no longer new.
But no more I say!
Unlike their previous releases of melancholic indie-rock, Ocean by Ocean is a synth heavy love letter to eighties rock and electronica. Ok, hair metal riffs are thankfully absent, but the stripped back layers of sound along with frontman Nathan Nicholson's excellent vocals playing delicately along.
Whilst the first half of the album has some truly excellent additions to the band's ever expanding discography, like opener Weapon, Big Ideas (even if it bares more than a nod to U2's Where the Streets Have No Name), Let's Disappear and Firework, the second half of the album teeters ever so slightly with less memorable tracks (The Fog I Was Lost In in particular, which shares some of the less than in impressive traits in Promises).
It's a shame as again, the first half is some of the band's absolute best, even with the radical departure and changes in style. If you liked The Boxer Rebellion's previous releases or want a good rock album with some of the eighties better points, you could do far worse than give Ocean by Ocean a spin.
7/10
H
@Retcon_Nation
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