Manchester rock band OCEANSIZE built a career and reputation of constructing sonic soundscapes from out of nowhere into the most monolithic, dynamic behemoths heard in aeons. The band formed in 1998 and released four albums before calling it a day in 2011. They gained favorable comparisons in the press to bands like Mogwai, Tool, Nirvana, Jane’s Addiction, My Bloody Valentine, Can, and Faith No More among others. Oceansize challenged themselves and thus by the same token ensured the listener doesn’t become comfortable while listening. And let’s face it, – comfortable is, after all, boring.
Everyone Into Position was Oceansize’s second studio album and Beggars Arkive will be reissuing it on June 3rd. The double album will be pressed on splattered yellow vinyl.
PREORDER: https://oceansize.
Everyone Into Position saw the band scale new heights of grandiose with ethereal and utterly captivating music that is brooding, dark, spacey, empowering, sprawling and at times angelic. Taking its title from the band’s observations of how apathetic the world was becoming in 2005 and the pseudo-caring mentality that was sweeping the nation at that time, Everyone Into Position is an album that explores every emotion, sweeping the listener up in its beauty, its wholeness and musical greatness.
The album was recorded and produced by Dan Austin at The Works Studio in Stockport, UK and mixed at Sarm Studios, London, by Coldplay producer Danton Supple.
The Soundgarden-esque opener ‘The Charm Offensive’ tells of an inner feeling of political corruptness. ‘Heaven Alive’ – is packed with a new-found groove, and deals with drug taking and the verbal bullshit that transpires. But it’s the final three songs on the album that are arguably some of Oceansize’s most brilliant moments. Described by the singer Mike Vennart as the “church suite” – listen to ‘Mine Host’, ‘You Can’t Keep A Bad Man Down’ and ‘Ornament / The Last Wrongs’ collectively and you understand just what Mike means. From the simplicity of ‘Mine Host’, through to the crushing, middle finger to the world angst of ‘You Can’t Keep..’ through to the hymn-like closer, it’s the ultimate climactic finale on any modern rock album.
“…good music is often difficult because it forces the listener to make connections rather than just giving everything away on the first listen. Such is the case with this release, and repeated listens yield rewards. What, on first listen, sound like sprawling and unwieldy compositions coalesce into beautifully-orchestrated chaos.” – POPMATTERS
