Oceans4 – Dark Horse (Album Review)

Today’s review features Oceans4 and their 2013 debut album Dark Horse. Oceans4 is the musical project of Andrew Crook, who has released several albums of multiple styles following this debut album.

Dark Horse was mastered by legendary studio mastering engineer Frank Arkwright, who has done the mastering for many legendary acts, including The Smiths, Elton John, Blur, Cat Burns, Arcade Fire, New Order, Belle and Sebastian, Johnny Marr, Mogwai, Frank Turner, and Buckley and Butler. Hi-Fi Choice described him as “England’s greatest mastering and remastering engineer for contemporary rock music”. He worked with Sir George Martin and Elton John on “Candle in the Wind,” the biggest-selling charted single of all time, and won a Mercury Music Prize. Johnny Marr says, “I always work with Frank on my records. Mastering the entire Smiths catalogue was a huge undertaking, but we have a way of working together, and it turned out perfectly. Frank Arkwright is one of the elite top mastering guys in the world”.

I’m anxious to hear what mastery Arkwright has brought to this project.

So let’s have a listen

Dark Horse, the first track on the album, features a distorted lead vocal and a catchy guitar, heavy bass. Very modern rock. The vocal is barely understandable. I love how the track drops out and features the bass playing a catchy, moving riff with distorted vocals only in the background. Eventually, the full band joins back in. I’m loving the sound of the lead guitar, very transcendental. The vocals come back in, stronger this time. Still distorted, giving the track a very modern edge in the mid-2010s.

The second track is Drinking Man which starts with a nice bass riff, drums, and the vocals quickly enter. Here, the vocals are nice and clear. I’m loving the mix/master of this track; everything can be heard distinctly. In the middle of the song, there’s a slightly distorted vocal that comes in to add a very compelling sound to the song. Loving the sound of the lead guitar. The vocals are fast, almost a rap at times. There’s a punk edge to this track. The track features bar sounds and a drunk man’s voice toward the end, very funny. Then the track ends with a hypnotic bass/guitar riff.

Alone, the third track on the album, starts with space synthesizer sounds, followed by a vocal in the background, reminiscent of The Flaming Lips. The bass is playing a slow line, then ramps up the speed and volume. The voice is sort of buried in the middle of the track, but it works well for this genre of music. The bass is playing a pounding, fast riff, to drive the sound forward. A distorted reverby guitar enters. I hear some ethereal backing vocals doing oohs and aahs in the background. The bass riff is replaced by a spacey keyboard playing the same notes. There is a dance between the bass and lead guitar, dripping with good tone. At the end, everything slows down. Sort of sounds like The Beatles’ psychedelic period, which makes sense since the album was mastered at Abby Road Studios.

Littleman kicks off with a jangly electric guitar; the vocals sound like The Beatles in the way they are mixed and mastered. This track reminds me of early Pink Floyd from the Piper at the Gates of Dawn period. Again, the bass, which sounds epic, drives the song forward against the jangly guitar. I’m loving the diverse sonic textures throughout this album, so many cool sounds to hear. Loving the squealing sound of the lead electric guitar.

Ceiling Fan, the fifth track on the album, starts with drums and a distant synthesizer. Sounds like there’s a very clean, almost acoustic, guitar in the mix. The voice is heavier in this song. Sounds a little like Tom Waits. Just a simple chord progression. Enter the whistling wind instruments against the stuttered synthesizer sounds. The voice sits nicely on top of the mix. Then, nearing the end, the track blows up, with all the instruments going a bit crazy. The drums are the stars of this track. Very psychedelic mix/master. The track finally calms back down to the heavy pulse of the drums, the psychedelic guitars and synthesizers, and eventually fades out nicely.

Song number 6 is The Walk. It begins with a keyboard and a delayed electric guitar. It reminds me of The Flaming Lips. Soon, a heavy drum beat takes over the mix. There is a vocal, but it’s not very loud, more like a chant. This track has a definite EDM dance feel. I can hear this one in the dance clubs. So many cool sounds to choose from. This album is full of ear candy. Lots of interesting sonic textures and pulsating rhythms.

Useless, the seventh track on the album, starts with a nice acoustic guitar carrying the bulk of the rhythm. Soon joined by a very English-sounding voice in the style of Syd Barrett. At the 2:40 mark, the song adds a strong drum beat and a very fuzzed-out guitar, which could be a keyboard, but sounds to me like a fuzz-driven guitar. Then back into the acoustic guitar with the sound of a piano underneath. All of these songs have wonderful movement in their arrangements and instrumentation.

Apprehension kicks off with a driving drum beat with synthesizer sounds and backing vocals layered gently in the background. There is a definite pulse to the rhythm that sounds like a heartbeat. Perhaps an apprehensive heartbeat. There are no lead vocals in this song, just ethereal backing vocals. But there are so many cool sounds to choose from in all these songs. Everything captures your ears’ attention. Even this song, which is probably my least favorite of all the songs on the album.

Space Is Chilling is the final song on the album. It begins with a drum playing cymbals, then a funky drum pattern on the snare and toms. A keyboard joins in playing a scattered melody and smooth chords. The bass adds some structure to the mix. The keyboards take flight. Again, this song has no vocals, just a hypnotic mix of instrumentation. Very spacey.

I really enjoyed listening to this album and would listen to it again, which is my personal test of whether an album is good. And this one definitely is.

SCORE/Outstanding: Oceans4 delivers an exceptional rock album in the style of many of the heavy-hitters in the UK scene. So many wonderful sounds and textures, pure ear candy. I highly recommend this album to anyone who loves bands like Blur and The Smiths. Much love, Beth

[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]

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