EFFLORESCE

Oceansize.. Oh, Oceansize. This band has been one hell of a grower for me. The first couple attempts at listening to any of their albums left little to no mark on me whatsoever, but now I find myself going back and listening to all of their albums in pretty heavy rotation.

This album is an absolutely wonderful blend of varying styles that comes together to create something amazing. Sure, it's got that alternative rock tinge to it, but add on top of that the layered guitar work, the thought provoking and intelligent lyrics, and the wonderful textures that make up the backdrop to a lot of the tracks, and you've got yourself a masterpiece of progressive rock. The band certainly exercises their chops and shows a lot of depth, but it never de-evolves into flashy solos or bombast, which is something I've grown to love about their music.

The first few tracks on the album may strike you as being purely alternative hard rock, but on repeat listens there are a lot of subtleties to the music to be found. You can certainly hear the post rock influences in their playing, which is especially evident in the last three tracks of the album in which the heavier playing takes the backseat and lets atmosphere and texture take the wheel. It shows a great deal of versatility in their music, and grips the listener from beginning to end.

Sure, it may not have clicked with me at first, but as they often say (not really sure who "they" are. Hmm... Something to think about I guess) truly amazing music grows on you over time rather than creating a huge bang right off and slowly diminishing.