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Album Reviews : Ocean Grove – The Rhapsody Tapes

By on January 31, 2017

unnamed-1-1024x1024Fans of Melbourne’s Ocean Grove have waited a long time for their debut album but well done to the band, they took their time to release something they would be completely happy with. The Rhapsody Tapes is an album which was written and produced completely in drummer/producer Sam Bassal’s bedroom.

Putting a genre to Ocean Grove is a tough task and the first few songs prove that. The opening number, What I Love About A Natural Woman, is an electronic/experimental, eighty-second, mindfuck before Beers starts and frontman Luke Holmes is screaming at you in his hardcore style. Thunderdome slows things down with soaring choruses lifting things back up. This is why they call themselves “Odd World Music.”

It would be very easy to go through and describe every track in more detail because each song is so unique in its own right. I’ve never quite come across an album like this but it’s great to see such a young band take such massive risks on their debut album. From rapping to hardcore screaming on Intimate Alien to the Jamaican/hip-hop/experimental feel of interlude Slow Soap Soak. These twelve tracks really have it all.

You’ll struggle to find a more unique album that The Rhapsody Tapes in 2017 but damn it’s a bloody solid album. It proves you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on a high-end producer or studio when you have a bloody talented young man in your band who can do it all for you.

Band: Ocean Grove
Album: The Rhapsody Tapes
Year: 2017
Genre: Alt Rock / Metal
Label: UNFD
Origin: Australia

About

Matt Barton loves all things rock and metal. Everyone from Slipknot to The Living End. He enjoys going to gigs and discovering new music. Matt also writes for Heavy Mag and is currently attempting to write his debut novel.