The Ocean – Heliocentric (2010)

As one of the most complex and intricate albums we have received in 2010, “Heliocentric” is an interesting release that will keep you guessing what’s next until the album comes to an end. The band does a great job at mixing Post Rock influences with Progressive elements.

Compared to their previous release “Precambrian”, “Heliocentric” is less complex and shows how the band is consolidating on a sound and sticking to it. This new release does have moments when they use cello, trumpets and other things, but it’s never abused and just complements the music very nicely.

By dropping the “Collective” out of their name, the band is now a core band and just uses a few session musicians, probably allowing the band to consolidate their sound more efficiently. And while “Heliocentric” is a good release, we feel it lacks some of the extra power that “Precambrian” had.

There are not too many releases like “Heliocentric”, but from the ones out this year we have “Shifting” from At The Soundawn, an album that is way better than this release. The Ocean is an interesting band but we think they fired some blanks with this release. The clean vocal melodies give the music a less powerful approach than before, leaving The Ocean without its older heavier side that spurts sporadically through the release but it’s less present than before.

The band does an interesting job in using a bigger theatrical and ‘artsy’ approach to their music, and they do create solid songs like “The Origin Of Species” and “Ptolemy Was Wrong”, but they feel far and distant from their older musical ventures. This will probably alienate some of the older fans of the band.

Overall, “Heliocentric” is a complex and interesting release that features a wide palette of musical passages that range from ‘heavy’ to acoustic. The band never looses it’s edge, but it also never comes close to what the achieved with “Precambrian”, we hope that the second part of this themed release will be heavier and better.

Release: April 13th, 2010

Country: Germany