Random Playlist #1Women Who Love Men Who Love Oceansize

This is the first of music-themed posts, adding to the family of other themed posts I have thrown out there. Now, originally the first Random Playlist was going to be a very, very overdue review-of-sorts of Coheed and Cambria's last offering, but that has undergone quite a few restarts, that it is still in the pipeline. Instead, let's replace that with something a little more recent. Last Thursday I had the pleasure of seeing Oceansize live @ the Casbah (formerly the "Colly") in Coventry.

I'll be clear when I say that I am a big fan of Oceansize. They could easily be labeled as a progressive outfit, but where they excel over other progressive bands I've listened to is that they really keep the focus. Often it seems the trademark of a progressive band is to throw in extended interludes and include solos like their arms are going to fall off and they may never get another chance. This does produce many a quality song - technical expertise of an instrument is something to be marveled at and something I hold in high regard. Oceansize take a different path, and produce, in my opinion, a much more cohesive sound. There is a clear and more obvious vision in their songwriting. They set themselves a simple target for each song, whether that is a 4 minute heavy, riff-laden rollercoaster, or a softer melodic affair, and they simply nail it. There's very few Oceansize songs I am not a fan of, and that's down to all the time, effort and care put it to producing each sone.

Looking back on the gig itself, and overall I was very impressed on the night. They did play quite a few off their most recent album, Frames, but I guess that is to be expected. That's also not a bad thing when I am indeed a huge fan of their latest, although my all-time fave album is "Everyone Into Position". Along with their recent songs, they ticked off the list some of the standout tracks from their earlier work. There was a slight problem with the second mic, the sound guy obviously felt the need to drop the levels to avoid feedback off the primary mic, but he was often slow to invert the levels which did spoil the experience a little. Especially when lead man Mike is screaming his heart out.

I went to the gig with Wilson and some other Warwick people and we were chatting about the band in the taxi home. I made the claim that Oceansize will forever be a small-time band and that unfortunately will never change, which is a crying shame considering their superb songcraft, which is not a crucial factor in a band's success. Everyone else argued that I was mistaken and that they have supported many very large bands, Smashing Pumpkins being one example. The problem comes about when they are the headliners themselves, where they are the main reason why people buy the ticket, and it's was saddening to see that the side room (not even the main room ><) was only half full. So depressing that Mike felt the need to comment (paraphrased):

"We played here 5 years ago and it was shit, maybe in 5 years time we'll be able to fill this room."

Other than that depressing outburst, I was very impressed with their performance. It reminded me how long it has been since I last saw a live band, and how great the experience can be.
One thing I ask for those who've not heard Oceansize, I feel it's my duty to spread the word, they are a great British band, go check them out. I can't say that they are for everyone, but if you're looking for something outside of the norm and/or are open to new music, then give them a listen, that would be rather cool.