In the seven years that We Are The Ocean have been a band, they’ve gone through their fair share of turbulence with their music, losing the vocalist that made them distinguishable and taking their sound down a completely different route to the band they started out as. 2012’s ‘Maybe Today, Maybe Tomorrow’ stood firm as a great album that proved there was still life in the band, but after taking some time out since it’s release, whatever they created next was going to have to be big and demand the attention of the fans that may have lost faith in the band.
‘Ark’ kicks off with the title track and it’s instantly clear how We Are The Ocean have developed their sound in those three years. With hints of influences from the likes of Muse and Queens of the Stone Age throughout, it’s a very dramatic opener, with the string section complimenting Liam Cromby’s powerful vocal perfectly. It’s certainly one of the most memorable tracks on the entire album; though see ‘The Midnight Law’ and ‘Do It Together’ for further examples of colossal choruses and punchy rhythms.
‘Good For You’ and ‘I Wanna Be’ welcome extravagant vocal harmonies and buoyant piano melodies, accompanied by old-school rock and roll vibes that take We Are The Ocean to a whole other level. Mid-record drops the tempo, with ‘I Hope You’re Well’ offering a gentle rock ballad with a slight Tennessee twist and ‘Letter to Michael’ lays bare with just a simple acoustic guitar and Liam’s voice heartfelt as he plucks through this charming track.
‘Holy Fire’ is truly the standout moment of the entire record though and is very reminiscent of the material from ‘Maybe Today, Maybe Tomorrow’. With a swooning guitar melody and Cromby’s vocal staying true to its style. It’s not too over dramatized, it builds in the right places and you can just picture thousands singing back the almighty chorus.
With drawing in from so many sources, ‘Ark’ occasionally struggles to maintain coherence – ‘There’s Nothing Wrong’ in particular pays homage to weaker Red Hot Chilli Peppers tracks, and ‘Remember To Remember Them’ fails to do the album justice as a closer. That said, this record shows the maturity in the boys musicianship and songwriting and they’ve put a lot of heart into the record both lyrically and sonically. They’re clearly aiming for bigger things, and there’s no doubt that the highlights of this record will sound phenomenal live. If you can forget all preconceptions you had of this band, and have a soft spot for stadium rock akin to Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age, this’ll be right up your street, although unfortunately for some it won’t be the record they were expecting, or wanted, from We Are The Ocean.
TAMSYN WILCE