Oceans Are Zeroes: Oceans Are Zeroes

Oceans Are Zeroes has come up with an album that rewards patience, that offers tremendous scope, that whispers as effectively as it shouts, that offers walls of sound made of stone and walls of sound made of clouds. Bands like Sigur Rós and Godspeed You! Black Emperor are the clear reference points here, though Oceans Are Zeroes is shooting for something more terrestrial than those bands, finding epic dynamics within interpersonal relationships. The songs are interspersed with little details that suggest an intimacy that all the pyrotechnics and dynamic shifts can’t hide.

Highlights include opener “Back to the Place”, a showcase of those wall-of-sound guitars that also offers some beautiful falsetto courtesy of vocalist Joseph Lyle, and “Underneath Everything”, a serene-to-explosive dynamic powerhouse. By the time the end of the seven-plus-minute penultimate track “You Said” comes around, no doubt remains that listeners will be left emotionally exhausted and utterly satisfied, though “Wine” actually functions quite well as a beautifully understated and strings-enhanced final act. Oceans Are Zeroes is a professional and beautiful album from a band who deserves your attention.