The Ocean Doesn't Want Me

All the way from South Africa, The Ocean Doesn’t Want Me meld together a mix of prog rock and sludge with a screamy hint that they may own one of two black metal albums between them. As with all good prog rock, this is of course a concept album of sorts; that is to say, it has a story to it that runs throughout. This bright and uplifting tale is based on characters attending a funeral. Each song represents a different person in attendance and how they relate to the poor ‘clogg popper’ in the box. This ranges from a friend, a husband, an adulterer to an acquaintance (much to my disappointment this was not a song about some sort of serial funeral crasher and his penchant for steeling ham sarnies). With this morbid yet fascinating theme behind the album, all NDubz fans can rest assured that they haven’t been ripped off here.

The tunes on display here hold nothing back; you wouldn't be able to listen many of them quickly on the way into work, teetering between the 5 and 12 minute mark, but having said that, this gives The Ocean Doesn’t Want Me ample time and space to really develop the tunes patiently and respectfully, as opposed to cramming 8 minutes worth of solo-ing round a tale about a man nicking sandwiches of a dead geezer or anything like that. Opening with ‘Roots point the way’ is also a fantastic curve ball that sets the album up to weave the intricate and surprising into the threads of the album. It glides along beautifully, almost like Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac, before belting into a euphoric rock ending akin to My Bloody Valentine.

But fear not grim lovers of all things muddy, TODWM get back onto it with ‘Van Eyck’ which crawls along slowly before going into a sort of slowed down Rolo Tomassi vibe along the way. ‘Property line' (presumably referring to this dead chap's landlord) has a real aggressive edge to it with guitarist CF and Bassist Beastie making the most of their respective vocals/guttural range to break the song down before bringing it back with an almighty dirt-slinging crescendo. ‘Until our mouths are filled with earth’ brings ‘As the dust settles’ to a close in typically dramatic and elongated fashion, wonderfully creating the sort of sound I’d imagine Fuck Buttons would make were they to unplug their laptops and pick up guitars. Luckily there’s no need for that as The Ocean Doesn’t Want Me do it just perfectly.

#Post-metal #progressive #sludge #The Ocean Doesn't Want Me #Adrian Huggins #Stubble