Manchester's Oceansize compose a mechanical flow of post-rock/experimental ticks and beats on their debut album, Effloresce.
As the title aptly suggests, Effloresce bursts forth with feverish punk edges and ethereal electronics for an aggressive guitar storm.
Mike Vennart (vocals/guitar), Steve Durose (guitar/vocals), Gambler (guitar), Jon Ellis (bass), and Mark Herrin (drums) seem content with the album's constant apprehension, and the shifty dynamic works.
From the agonizing fury of "You Wish" and "Amputee" to the band's more eclectic and melodic instrumentals such as "I Am the Morning" and "Unravel," the momentum of Effloresce never lets up.
"Women Who Love Men Who Love Drugs" is a stunning heatstroke featuring Vennart and Durose's icy twin-guitar work.
As it swirls into a menagerie of space rock and post-alternative rock, Vennart's aching vocals only accentuate the buildup of what is the album's finest moment.
The dozen-track set list is loaded from start to finish, sonically and emotionally; however, Oceansize basically rely on the strength of their individual playing to carry the weight of Effloresce.
While most of the songs are individually interesting, the album's overall composition is rather lacking.
Oceansize do have potential and Effloresce does show promise, but its arrangement isn't as thought-out as it could be.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I Am the MorningOceansize | Oceansize | Play | 04:18 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | CatalystOceansize | Oceansize | Play | 06:40 | 15 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | One Day All This Could Be YoursOceansize | Oceansize | Play | 04:19 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | Massive BereavementOceansize | Oceansize | Play | 09:59 | 22 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | RinsedOceansize | Oceansize | Play | 03:58 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | You WishOceansize | Oceansize | Play | 06:00 | 13 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Remember Where You AreOceansize | Oceansize | Play | 05:22 | 12 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | AmputeeOceansize | Oceansize | Play | 05:32 | 12 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | UnravelOceansize | Oceansize | Play | 02:50 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | Women Who Love Men Who Love DrugsOceansize | Oceansize | Play | 08:30 | 19 MB | 0 MB |
| 57 mins | 131 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Blair | Mastering |
| 2 | Steve Durose | Guitar, Member of Attributed Artist, Vocals |
| 3 | Jon Ellis | Bass Instrument, Member of Attributed Artist |
| 4 | Gambler | Guitar, Member of Attributed Artist |
| 5 | Mark Heron | Drums, Member of Attributed Artist |
| 6 | Phil Lee | Art Direction, Design, Photography |
| 7 | Claire Lemmon | Additional Personnel, Vocals (Background) |
| 8 | Kimberlee McCarrick | Additional Personnel, Cello, Viola, Violin |
| 9 | Martin McCarrick | Additional Personnel, Cello, Viola, Violin |
| 10 | Adrian Newton | Assistant Engineer |
| 11 | Oceansize | Audio Production, Composer, Primary Artist, Producer |
| 12 | Louis Read | Assistant Engineer |
| 13 | Chris Sheldon | Audio Engineer, Audio Production, Engineer, Mixing, Producer |
| 14 | Mike Vennart | Guitar, Member of Attributed Artist, Vocals |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |