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Review: Jack Foley
OCEAN Colour Scene have been around for the past 15 years, yet
it's easy to overlook them.
They are the type of band which delivers one outstanding single
per album only to become overlooked amid the clamour to expose
new and emerging acts, or heap praise upon the likes of the super-groups.
Yet their durability is testament to their ability to write consistently
strong material, which has included past classics such as The
Day We Caught The Train, You've Got It Bad and Riverboat
Song.
Their latest album, A Hyperactive Workout for the Flying
Squad, is populated by the sort of songwriting that has become
their hallmark - that is to say, some classic OCS anthems mixed
in with some surprising changes in direction.
There is also the odd average effort, which hints at why the
band has never achieved super-group status - for all their toil,
they have yet to deliver a definitive album such as Definitely
Maybe, Parklife or A Rush of Blood to the Head (in
my humble opinion).
Certainly, A Hyperactive Workout suggests they have
plenty of life in them yet, as suggested in the energetic first
single, Free My Name, which features a big brass intro,
some urgent melodies and the raspy, distinctive vocals of lead
singer, Simon Fowler.
The track was actually written some time ago, in the late 90s,
when both PP Arnold and Liam Gallagher liked the song and played
around with their own versions.
Steve (Cradock) and Liam worked on the song further while in
the studio recording the Weller cover, Carnation, before
OCS finally decided to make it their own and plant it on the new
album.
Yet it's not among the album highlights, no matter how highly
Fowler and co clearly regard it.
The highlights belong to the likes of Drive Away and
Wah Wah.
The latter, in particular, is a rousing, indie-tinged, melody-strewn
anthem that recalls elements of The Beatles mixed with The Charlatans
and which really ought to have you seeing along to every 'wah,
wah' they care to throw at you.
While Drive Away, on the other hand, is a heartfelt,
heartbroken ballad ('you leave me with the rest of you') that
finds Fowler's vocals at their most aching and the band's guitars
at their most weeping.
It is a beautiful, haunting record that capably displays the
growing maturity of the band.
Elsewhere, the album, which was written and recorded in a hunting
lodge in a remote part of the Scottish highland's in 2004, features
collaborations with Paul Weller, Jools Holland and soulstress,
Carleen Anderson, thereby mixing the sounds quite distinctly.
Some work well, others do not - but all impress in some way,
given the scope of ambition displayed by the band.
I Love You resonates with Fowler's intense vocals and
some really driving bass and drums, while Waving Not Drowning
is a laidback, country-tinged effort that displays the band's
instrumental diversity.
It all adds up to a compelling whole that probably rates among
the band's very best efforts. Fans should embrace it, while others
just might want to consider checking it out.
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