LIVE

OSHEAN is one of many obscure Russian post-rock artists and formed in 2008 in the city of Izhevsk. The band is also known as one of the bands that transcended the initial post-rock boom of the 2000s into the modern era from the frenzy that came and went in Russia. Inspired by the beauty and rhythms of the Earth's natural classical elements (i.e. earth, fire, water, air, aether), OSHEAN delivers a serene and even surreal style of post-rock sort of in the Sigur Ros camp without the falsetto vocal accompaniments.

Virtually no info can be found about the history of this band and how it came to be however OSHEAN does have a Bandcamp site that features three albums all titled LIVE although technically this is LIVE! and the others are "Live II" and "Live3." The band doesn't even offer any info about the albums themselves as they are all listed as being released in 2020 but that's apparently only the digital form. Whatever the case this is the only album listed in most databases and although they list this band hardly anyone has bothered to listen to them. It seems this album was released in 2012.

First of all this is NOT a LIVE album at all! Yeah it's silly when bands release studio albums called LIVE or "Greatest Hits" or something like that. I mean artistic is one thing but confusing the fans is quite another! There are a lot of mediocre post-rock bands out there with Russia finding a fair share of them but OSHEAN is a bit more interesting than the average post-rock band that many seem to think this style of music is easy to construct. True it's not technically infused death metal or something that demands virtuoso playing skill but it demonstrates another type of skillset and that is the art of writing sprawling competent soundscapes.

OSHEAN does pull that off on this collection of eight tracks that add up to just over 57 minutes. The band features Vladislav (vocals, bass), Armour Kosarev (violin), Ed Afanasiev (guitars), Fiodor Shi (guitars) and Alexey Khudyakov (drums). Together this band crafts a nice sounding style of post-rock that features dueling guitar riffs that mostly deliver cyclical loops in nice clean echoey tones. The violin is an excellent addition as it adds a bit of gypsy folk melancholy to the sound and although no keyboardist is credited there is a thick dreamy atmospheric backdrop. More electric rock guitar moments also provide those satisfying crescendoes in the vein of Explosions In The Sky.

Likewise the band doesn't just plod on in a mechanical way but actually changes up motifs and offers time signature deviations making this is progressive post-rock band and not just the garage variety. The music is mostly instrumental but does features occasional vocals and they are quite diverse offering some extremely emotional performances. I really love the diversity of this one as the band has mastered the art of dynamics as well as functioning contrapuntal elements that add layers of emotive instrumentation that adds up to a very powerful experience. I would say the band most reminds me of Sigur Ros with its ethereal elemental approach to its brand of post-rock however it's also quite different as well mostly because of the grounding folky sounds of the violin.

So far this is one of the better post-rock bands i've encountered from Russia and also one of the most obscure and difficult to access. They have a social media presence and apparently play many live shows in their region of the world but as far as advertising to the rest of the planet they need to up their game! This is overall a very dreamy rich tapestry of post-rock that will appeal to those who love a chamber rock approach to the Sigur Ros sound. Some of the guitar tones remind me of classic Pink Floyd especially on "The Wall" but in the end the band and this album sound distinct enough that only rough comparisons can be made. If Pagan post-rock that is inspired by nature sounds appealing then you can't go wrong with OSHEAN.