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.

Oceansize - Music for Nurses

A relative short, but quite magical cd. This release has nothing to do with the band's next album, but features individual songs, with the last couple of tracks running together as one long suite.

The music featured on this disc is a variety of different sounds, most of which people can relate to when they've heard (and liked) the bands previous output "Effloresce". There's however one track that features shouting vocals, but it doesn't bother me at all, in fact it blends in perfectly with the song!

Overall, I can say that this EP is a good transition album, in that aspect that it features elements from both the Effloresce album as well as the new "Everyone into Position" album.

And, for 7? you aren't complaining about the price, are you?

The EP Music for Nurses comes between Oceansize's first two albums, and it's quite good in my opinion.

Despite its length, I enjoy Music for Nurses very much. It starts off with "One Out of nONE", a great opener and one of Oceansize's heavier songs. The next song, "Paper Champion", which starts out softly but becomes heavier by the end. The last three songs on the EP function really as one song. The trio of songs start of very mellow with "Drag the 'Nal", then intesifies in the middle of "Dead Dogs an' all Sorts" until it reaches the peak in "As the Smoke Clears". These three songs are the highlight of the album.

I would say Music for Nurses is a very quality EP worth getting. It's a great bridge between Effloresce and Everyone into Position.

Bloody hell, I’ve finally got it!!!

OCEANSIZE is one of those bands that is separate from others. Their sound is unique, they have style of their own, and I would place them equally with TOOL, PORCUPINE TREE and THE MARS VOLTA in Modern Prog/Alternative Prog pantheon. It’s incredible, how they are terribly underrated here and in Prog world in a whole. I hope they’ll receive the status they deserve with their up-coming release. They should be warmed-up by PORCUPINE TREE, not in reverse!!! :)

Let’s get down to business. This EP was released between “Effloresce” and “Everyone into Position” and it contains that were never released anywhere else. It also shows how band is maturing, turning from Psych/Post-Rock outfit into Heavy Math Prog killer. Don’t dare to think that you lose nothing if you still haven’t got this CD. It’s like David Lynch movie – every detail has importance, and if you missed “Music for Nurses” you’ll never get the whole picture. Yes, it’s only 25 minutes long, but it’s more than worthy of getting!

“Out of None” opens it, and it’s one of the most wildest and heaviest tracks OCEANSIZE ever did (“A Homage to a Shame” comes to mind as well). The next is “Paper Champion”, with whispering vocals from Vennart and eerie atmosphere contrasted but not ruined by heavy riffing. Short interlude (“Drag the ‘Nal”) and “Dead Dogs an all sorts” follows, dreamy Post-Rocky tune with breathtaking tremolo guitars, climaxing into “As The Smoke Clears”, another heavy masterpiece.

OCEANSIZE doesn’t care for catchy predictable melodies much. You won’t find here solos as in usual Prog as well, or musicians’ technical show-up. They have much more – they have sound and manner of their own, atmosphere with a size of an ocean, complex signatures and strange unconventional harmony progressions and chords. You’ll hardly whistle any song from this EP while taking a shower, but it’s still more melodic than “Effloresce” – it shows the path to their most melodic and accessible in a general way “Everyone into Position” album. I’m still wondering how could I, the melodies fanatic, fall in love with this fantastic band. Their melody feeling lies inside, sometimes it is hardly noticeable, but the interested ones will be blessed. Highly recommended. Open your mind to a new horizon, and let these Manchester guys turn you in.

This EP is OCEANSIZE's second release, and signals a shift away from melody towards math-rock like precision. The frenetic forty-second last note ending of 'One Out Of None' is as good an example of this as any. 'Paper Champion' plays some interesting production tricks but really isn't up to much as a track. The last three tracks run together and build nicely into a composition with strong rhythms and guitar work. The final track starts with a memorable monster-sized riff good enough to hook you into a second listen.

A couple of these might have made the cut on 'Effloresce' but, as you might expect from a stop-gap EP, this does not have the same high compositional quality as the albums that precede and follow it. The major element missing, in my opinion, is the lack of melodious vocals that on 'Effloresce' counterpointed the abrasive guitars. Nevertheless, in the thirteen minute finish, this EP still packs a punch. If their excellent albums leave you wanting more, listen to this.

This band is pulling out lots of releases in their short career. Albums, CD's and EP's are plenty in a short period of time.

A song as "One out of None" is fully metal oriented. Wild and loud shouts, an incredible power, a typical and heavy sound are indeed close to heavy metal. A good song partially ruined by some unbearable vocals during some sections, while on the other hand Mike Vennart is so poignant during the melodic lines. The guitar trio sounds fabulous and they provide an amazing wall of sound.

"Paper Champion" features another facet of their work. The ambient PT style. At least during a big chunk of it, because this song builds up nicely into a powerful crescendo to end up in some sort of hypnotic metal bravery. It won't be the only track of that vein on this EP.

The short and spacey "Drag the 'Nal" leads to the similar "Dead Dogs An' All Sorts". Same structure as for "Paper Champion". After a melancholic start, the metal beat catches up again and delivers another killer and heavy beat.

I wouldn't say that "Oceansize" sounds original. They are mixing sounds already available but they remain an interesting band. If you except the opening track, most of the tracks are more relaxing overall. But most of them also features this metal sound that seems to invade a bit too much the modern prog (but that's just my opinion).

The structure of most numbers is too predictable and repetitive for my taste. The closing song As the Smoke Clears is just another example. Three stars.

Not as good as Effloresce, but features one of the best band’s tracks.

This EP (quite short – only 25 minutes) was released between their studio albums and is worth listening.

1. One Out of nONE (10/10). 5 minutes of extraordinary power and energy, full of tempo-changes and passages. Amazing track, especially “deceptive” ending, really inspired!

2. Paper Champion (7/10). A quiet track at the beginning. I like “negotiations” of 3 guitars – 2 guitars play riff on both channels, while the center guitar plays rhythm. The guitarist are just amazing and solid…

3. Drag The 'nal (5/10). It’s kind of an epic’s intro. Actually, the last three songs are the parts of one song.

4. Dead Dogs An'all Sorts (6/10). Very typical Oceansize’s track - take-off run structure and noise build- up.

5. As The Smoke Clears (7/10). The last part of the epic. The track is very alternative-like and a bit overextended, but quite good.

Well, not their best, but it’s worth listening (especially, track #1).

Music For Nurses is a 25 minute EP of original material, 5 non-album tracks that present a side of Oceansize different from the debut album. It shows the development of Oceansize from Efforescence to Everyone Into Position but doesn't have one track that matches the quality of the songs on the full length albums.

The noise rock of One Out of None is a lot more aggressive then anything else they had tried so far. It starts with a nice math metal intro but the song itself is pretty unremarkable, too typical emo pop indie for my taste. Paper Champion tries hard to emulate the pondering side of Tool. There are also some traces of industrial music in the style of Stabbing Westward. Not bad but I've got an overdose of this kind of stuff in the 90's.

After a short ambient interlude, Oceansize get to the most interesting track on this release. Dead Dogs is a concise take on post-rock, starting with a pensive mood and building up to a wall of sound in just under 5 minutes. As The Smoke Clears is an adventurous composition, but like most material here, it lacks the song quality of the albums around it. It treads around without much of an impression.

With not one track of outstanding quality, I'll have to convict this EP to fans only territory.

Oceansize is one of those prog rock bands that is hard to classify due to their general style of music. Are they alt prog with their hardcore sound that bands like Coheed And Cambria follow suit? Are they contemporary prog due to their sound having similar veins to that of Porcupine Tree? Are they psych prog for their use of modern day psychedelia like what Crippled Black Phoenix does? It is hard to pinpoint these lads from the UK, but even then their music is an excellent foray into this vibrant land of psychedelic infused hardcore prog rock. I find their best release to be Effloresce at the moment, but I think their EP of Music For Nurses is a surprise close second.

Music For Nurses EP is a transitional EP where Oceansize went away from their glitchy space rock leanings on Effloresce, and more towards a post hardcore impression on Everyone Into Position. This means Music For Nurses feels a bit more focused on the hardcore side of the band, whilst also dabbling in moments of space rock magnitude.

My favorite moments on this EP are actually the more post rock-esque attitudes that infuse space rock texture, mostly of the second half with Dead Dogs An' All Sorts and As The Smoke Clears. The first half is a bit more hardcore, which I think is really great. It adds this nice little divide between the two sides of Oceansize, the more raging and dramatic hardcore side that dabbles in a more alternative prog way, and the calmer post rock and space elements that is more akin to contemporary prog, with the third track, Drag The 'Nal, being this in between piece that allows these two sides of Oceansize together, which I find makes this album all but bad.

I have one issue that doesn't quite make this EP be my favorite though, and it is more of a preference thing, but I prefer the more space rock leanings that Effloresce delivered, and I was kinda disappointed to not have found them here, or on Everyone Into Position. While I do really like this EP, I never quite enjoyed it as much as their more space and psychedelic leanings that they strayed from over their career. While I know and appreciate bands for changing and moving on, I cannot help but miss those old days.

Sentimentalities aside, I think this is a great EP all around, a good one to check into if you like the more hardcore and noisy side of prog. Definitely recommended for a good time.