Oceansize
Frames
Superball (2007)
Staying certain to an unspoken pattern of two years between releases, Oceansize has returned to us with their third full-length album. Including the bonus track, "Voorhees," Frames clocks in at over a monstrous hour and fifteen minutes, a feat that similar, non-established progressive artists have little courage for testing on the streams of today's steadily decreasing attention spans. Brave you are indeed, Oceansize. Especially when conversations with this reviewer's friends go along the lines of, " and why is it that you don't like The Mars Volta?" "Because they have ten minute songs!" It should be noted right off the bat that this new record marks a trek back to the group's Effloresce boards fellow, Chris Sheldon. This actually matters a lot because he was more effective in bridging the group's melody with the experimental wildfire that permeates their existence. The influence of previous hands is particularly appreciated in the vocals department. With Sheldon back, gone are those all too frequent moments of Mike Vennart's croons being completely shredded into non-existence thanks to the tornado of guitars and drums that dominate the lion's share of Oceansize's material. But aside from a return to far superior mixing, layering, and icing, the … Read more
Grizzly Bear
Friend
Warp (2007)
Having heard Grizzly Bear's Horn of Plenty when it was first released and liking it quite a lot, I was … Read more
The Dirty Projectors
Rise Above
Dead Oceans (2007)
Last February, I went to the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor, MI to catch a set by Grizzly Bear, Brooklyn … Read more
