Oceansize
Oceansize - Self Preserved While The Bodies Float Up

Part Cardiac
SuperImposer
Build Us A Rocket Then...You Rocket Building C*nt
Oscar Acceptance Speech
Ransoms
A Penny's Weight
Silent/Transparent
It's My Tail And I'll Chase It If I Want To
Pine
SuperImposter

Northern England doesn’t seem like a prog rock haven from the outside, but with Liverpudlians
Anathema transcending to new heights and now Mancunians Oceansize continuing their solid, filler-free output with this new album, it seems there must be something in the water.

Fulfilling their promise of this being the heaviest record yet, opening track ‘Part Cardiac’ is very Melvins in the off-kilter crunchy guitars and monotonous vocal lines. Most of the tracks are intuitively listenable, almost easygoing, even in the complexity of numbers like ‘Superimposer’ which washes over the listener in waves of crazy beats.

‘Self Preserved…’ is a beautiful recording with a laconic side to it. There is a blasé feel to the vocals, which are at times like an afterthought taped on to the deep and rich arrangements. This actually contributes to the welcoming, forgiving feel of the Oceansize sound on tracks such as ‘Oscar Acceptance Speech’, which contains a thoughtful mix of minimalist and psychadelic influences with chilled out but powerful results.

Great background music and also very interesting to listen to closely, Oceansize’s alternative/prog rock tunes don’t try to challenge your perceptions or blow your mind. The dreamy sway of this album is like a more condensed and song focussed Godspeed You!  Black Emperor (with vocals). However relaxing and subliminal this is, it may be a little harder to
become excited about than 2007’s more fiery ‘Frames’, but this band have earned every bit of acclaim with their integrity and diversity is the spice of life.

Reviewed by Mike Gilpin
'Self Preserved While The Bodies Float Up' is out now on Superball
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Oceansize