These are strange and unprecedented times. I, like many of you, have been self-quarantining for 17 days now. And while the days do certainly pass slowly, I have to admit that for me – it hasn't been all bad. For example, I haven't driven my car in over a week. I've worn the same pyjama bottoms for the last four days in a row. And of course, I've been listening to music – a lot of music. I'm beyond thankful that even in a time of global crisis, that there's still an incredible amount of new music to be heard, Music from bands like the Portland-based, indie rock/City Pop quartet; Superocean.
Their latest single ‘Best Thing' is a psychedelic City Pop ode to '80s New Wave. It's an incorporation of indie rock, shoegaze, and Far East dance music; beautifully woven into one elegantly flowing track. If you've ever awoken from a deep sleep, unable to tell if you were still dreaming or awake – that's the feeling you'll get from listening to Superocean. Kind of like being pulled simultaneously between two different planes of consciousness. Every note of the guitar cries out with a brilliant sustain, welcoming you in and beckoning you to come closer. It's a musical myriad, a labyrinth of perception, and nearly impossible to dislodge from your musical memory once it embeds itself.
More than anything else, ‘Best Thing' creates a sensation of displacement. You could literally hop in your Delorean, cruise on back to good old 1985, and throw this bad boy on every radio station in town. They'd eat it up. It's a reminder of why we use terms like ‘classic' and ‘timeless'. Because that's precisely what it is. It's also the exact style of music Superocean is attempting to emulate: classic, timeless, disco-fueled rock n' roll. ‘Best Thing' respects the past without being derivative or redundant. It effortlessly reinvents the prevailing sound of a decade that many have long since forgotten.
Superocean is living proof that simplicity is sublime; that there is intrinsic value in being unassuming and understated. As a band, they are boundless, able to effortlessly mold to the mind of the listener like water poured into a jug. Their music will envelop you. It will fill you with a euphoria reminiscent of a chemically altered state. But I think what's most valuable, certainly at this moment, is that ‘Best Thing' will take you away. It will get you out of your body and outside your mind – if only for a moment.
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Find Best Thing and many other awesome tunes on our New Music playlist!
I really dig some of the lighter shoegaze stuff that going round right now – keeping it super dreamy
I really love this album!
Keep the awesome music coming up!
Love the new album! Keep making this awesome music!
Cracking new album! really keeping me entertained during this thoroughly unentertaining time!
Cracking album! Keeping me entertained during this thoroughly unentertaining time!
Love the wavy 80s sound. Fantastic headphone candy