Having never heard of these guys before I spun this short EP, I was not sure what to expect from these guys. With a post rock-like name and a song title like (I'll Grab You By The) Neck of the Woods that suggests some serious scene stink, I was intrigued by what they would actually sound like.
Opening track "Look Alive" starts off with with some energetic guitars and a confessional half shout-half scream that leads into the guitarist's gorgeous clean vocals. I must admit that this track was a bit disappointing in terms of lyricism and songwriting; it was an exercise in the same tired post hardcore vein that has rode too many rockets in its day. The reason that I continued to keep listening was undoubtedly the vocal interplay between frontman Dan Brown and guitarist Liam Cromby; the vocals between both had a fluidity to them that does not seem to surface too many times in this genre of music. Many a time I have banged my head against a wall as a demon screamed bloody murder and then was quickly replaced by poppy (or poopy, if you will) autotune. Regardless of the reasons why I continued to listen on, the point is that I was handsomely rewarded.
(I'll Grab You By The) Neck of the Woods is my personal favorite on the record, and it really shows what this band is capable of when they allow themselves to think outside of the proverbial box. The song begins with guitars intertwining and creating a somber atmosphere, and then fifty seconds into the songs Brown lends his unique scream to the song, and from that point on, the song just becomes a gem. It is the darkest song on the EP, and the clean vocals are kept to a minimum. I believe this helps the effectiveness of the song, and one can tell the influences are vast for this UK fivesome.
Cutting Teeth is unfortunately another letdown, as the song clocks in around two minutes and seems to be indicative of the genre that they have chosen for themselves. Drag Me Down, the last song on this short offering, is a solid song that showcases the clean vocals of Cromby and slightly better lyrics than found on the majority of this release. It is worth noting that Liam's singing sounds very close to Dallas Green from Alexisonfire, and if it were any other singer he was emulating, I would probably find fault with that fact. As it stands, his soaring voice is miles above many competitors in the stale genre
Well folks, what I have learned through these four songs from We Are The Ocean is that they have the capability in the future to create truly original music that will stand apart from many of their peers. They have won me over as a temporary fan, and I eagerly await their next release.
