MUSIC FOR NURSES

Warning - this is not the follow up to Effloresce! This is essentially a stop-gap EP to keep the band's die-hard fans happy while they work on the new album. But, while they may have no place on the forthcoming LP, these five tracks form a very cohesive piece on their own. It does, however, mark something of a break for the band, being overall much darker and heavier than their previous releases.

"One out of None" starts off the album in tremendous style, with one of the loudest pieces in the OCEANSIZE back catalogue. Only the slightly overly dragged out ending spoils it slightly.

"Paper Champion" is much more structured and constructed. The piece builds throughout its 6 minutes, becoming louder and busier as the time passes. In terms of feel, it is closer to that of "One Day All This Will Be Yours" or "Remember Where You Are", but with seemingly cleaner production.

The last three tracks can almost be counted as one 13 minute monster, flowing seemlessly together from the quiet instrumental "Drag the 'Nal", building through "Dead Dogs An' All Sorts" and letting loose in the powerful and aptly titled closer, "As The Smoke Clears", which is among OCEANSIZE's best songs.

Music for Nurses doesn't offer the same variety and length as Effloresce, but it is a convincing EP, both coherent and well written. Above all, it shows that OCEANSIZE haven't used up all their inspiration in one album, and that their second album will undoubtedly be well worth waiting for.