Turn around in the SA rock scene and you’re likely to hear the following phrase incessantly: “That band is great, but they are just riding this wave of nostalgia we have been going through.”
The “wave” that’s being referred to has been prevalent in our scene for close on a decade. When are the gate keepers going to realise that its’ perfectly okay for a band writing music in 2023 to sound like they are writing music in 2003? Good music stands out, good writing does too. Oceans of Angels just dropped an EP, The Gift, that draws heavily from those very 2003 sort of sounds, which holding solid ground in 2023 – and that’s okay!
The EP has a sense of longing that runs through the entire six-track extent. One gets the impression that it’s aimed at those of us who continually face our life’s sorrows – “Carnival” encompassing this feeling beautifully and it’s easy to get trapped in the lyricism of it. “Shattered Soldier” and “Still On Fire” too are penned excellently. Simple lyricism complimenting the classic rock vein the EP hold steadfastly to.
Spearheaded by multi-instrumentalist Sheldon Horvatic – who does basically everything on the album bar the piano and synth – he’s joined this time around by producer Matthew Fink who fills in on the latter. The music is simple. The production is clean and easy to absorb. The vocals are carefully curated to align with the classic rock sound that has been portrayed throughout. And if anything, the stand-alone track is “The Gift”. Why? Well, because it’s exactly what one comes to expect from this style of music.
Feature pic supplied by artist.
