photo by @capturedbysez
Stalwarts of the local underground music scene with their sights firmly set on an international stage, Melbourne / Naarm, Australia five-piece Shoegaze band Oceans, comprised of Thomas Lee (guitar, vocals), Michael Fox (lead guitar), Sam Black (rhythm guitar), Tom Mcmullin (bass), and Mitch Hicks (drums) with Caity Magee hosted on backing vocal duty, is going to unveil the final single, “Breathless”, WL//WH is pleased to premiere along with the official video by Camcorder Cologne, taken from the hard-hitting and emotive ten-track album “Dreamers in Dark Cities”, scheduled for release on March 24, 2023, via Portland‘s independent label Shelflife Records.
Pulling from elements of Ambient, New Wave, and Shoegaze, Oceans‘ sound is firmly rooted in experimentation and timbre, in order to create wide mesmerizing guitar-driven landscapes, often augmented with electronic atmospherics, giving shape to enveloping, emotional, and kaleidoscopic sonic nuances, seamlessly teetering between lights and shadows, revitalizing all the magic of their past inspirations.
Recorded and produced with legendary Australian producer Lindsay Gravina (Rowland S. Howard, Magic Dirt), the LP was written during the 2020 lockdown period, exploring the themes of living in isolation in a once vibrant city that now stands silent as one of the longest locked down cities in the world.
The album combines lush synth pads with haunting melodies of the baritone guitar setting a moody soundscape for the emotive vocal harmonies, while, lyric-wise, explores themes of loneliness, isolationism and disconnection that comes from being separated from your loved ones for a long period of time.
“This song was inspired by the Jean-Luc Godard‘s Nouvelle Vague 1960 masterpiece ‘Breathless’ (À bout de souffle), which explores how people can try to hold onto a relationship even though it hurts them. It explores the darker themes of love and how we still hold significance to others no matter how far away they may be or the pain they may cause.”
Noisy distorted ebbs and surges from layers of fuzzed-out guitar drifts, laced with meandering sparkling wistful melodies, underpinned by heavy throbbing bass lines, and plodding drum beats, channel the moods of a young romance around high dreamy dual vocal angst, confessing conflicting emotions whilst waiting breathless and restless for other to arrive.
The vintage clip by Camcorder Cologne takes the doomed relationship between Josh Hartnett and Kirsten Dunst in Sofia Coppola’s 1999 movie The Virgin Suicides to sync seamlessly with the tragic heartache of the soundtrack. The video unfolds through the whimsical memories of the beautiful and rebellious lovesick anti-heroine, Lux, whose regretful night at the High School dance leads to a short life of destructive behavior.
Oceans‘ upcoming full-length LP, “Dreamers in Dark Cities”, is slated for release, in ltd. Vinyl 12″ & Digital formats, on March 24, 2023, via Portland‘s independent label Shelflife Records.
Keep up with Oceans / Shelflife Records:
SHELFLIFE RECORDS | Facebook | Soundcloud | Bandcamp | Instagram |
OCEANS | Facebook | Spotify | Bandcamp | Instagram |
