Oceana Company - Promo 2007

Oceana Company is a Dutch band which is currently working on their 2008 release called For The Boatman. Their full length will be released through Space Jam Records. Oceana Company sent us a promo with the request to review it. A promo that has already been released in 2007, but was send to Metalrage recently. Since we at Metalrage like to support the local scene and up and coming bands, this wasn´t a request which was send to deaf ears.

After the first couple of spins I had the feeling that I had heard this music a million times before, though I cannot exactly describe with which bands you can compare Oceana Company. The band plays a style of postrock with some psychedelic elements and that typical fuzzy guitar play. All of this is accompanied by clean vocals which sound a bit melancholic.

Although the first listens didn´t exactly 'wow' me, the few spins after that, the music got its place in my head. So, the boredom that I first encountered didn´t bother me anymore. Of course this is a good sign, since I´m very fond of records which grow on you. The main thing that got me bored at first were the vocals. They're a bit too one dimensional. No diverse vocal lines or variation in these songs!

There is only one problem with reviewing this promo, and that´s that this promo really ìs a promo. I cannot really pass well-considered judgement based on only three songs. They are of good quality, but are lacking in the dynamics and contrast areas. This is a problem that this genre is often struggling with and I´m curious if they can cope with this negative point on a full length release. Do they send me in the land of boredom with a full length, or is exact the opposite the case? Please test me….