Live Review

Ocean Alley @ The Foundry

On Friday the 13th of May, Ocean Alley loosed their new album ‘Lost Tropics’ upon the Australian music scene, in preparation for their official album launch at the Foundry. I had listened to the album a couple of times before the launch so as to get a feeling for the band, they are slowly gaining momentum after several months of what seems to be, through observation, intense touring, and I was curious to see what kind of sounds they would be playing with. I was excited to hear their experimentation in tracks like Jellyfish, where the vocals take on a secondary role in the song and the psychedelic reggae sound that I had already begun to associate with the band really come through. So with a sense of quiet anticipation of a good night, I arrived at the Foundry early, and was guided upstairs through funky artwork and sticky floors to the stage where the act was happening, and was immediately slightly concerned at the venue. The stage and lighting looked great, but the way in which the standing area beneath the stage had an awkward jutting out portion where a divider would normally be gave rise to the possibility of diminished visibility for the sold out launch, however it proved later to be of no concern for the large following that the band clearly has.

The first act on the stage was TRAILS, who almost immediately impressed me as they channelled Radiohead-esque sounds mixed with alternative rock. Unfortunately, as with most opening acts, the crowd was small and reluctant to give to much energy back to the band, but nevertheless they persisted with huge amounts of infectious enthusiasm. The lead singer, Tyler Shilling, jumped off the stage into the audience at one point and I couldn’t help but feel he deserved a more reactive crowd as I laughed at his antics which so well encapsulated the band’s vibe. The lyrics in their songs were clever and reflective as well. After this performance I think they’re definitely a band to watch out for.

After wandering out to the smokers section and noticing the abundance of oversized shirts and bucket hats, gypsy skirts and bralettes, I got the impression of a crowd that loved a bit of underground alternative music, a smattering of psychedelics and lot of reggae. This became more apparent as the second band, Hemingway, began to play. Within minutes of their first song they had a whole lot of happy hippies dancing away in the front row. The reggae roots band played a solid, well received set that demonstrated all of the band members talent. The lead singer particularly impressed me, his gritty voice and charismatic stage presence fit the genre of music that the band was emulating perfectly, and he had the ability and confidence to carry of his band’s eccentricities through his communication with the audience.

By the end of Hemingway's performance the room was clearly ready for the final act, the sold out show was testimony to the band’s following and the obvious excitement was palpable. I had secured a rather excellent position (if I do say so myself) to the front right of the stage during Hemingway’s performance in order to maintain it during Ocean Alley’s, however, this proved within minutes to be a completely futile exploit as the audience crammed in together for a good view of the band and the benefits of having your eardrums blasted with rocky reggae. Personally, I don’t like watching live music where I don’t have the room to dance on my own terms, so I moved to the back of the crowd in order to thrust and bust a move as I pleased, but this would be my only criticism of the night. Ignoring my slightly distanced position, I enjoyed almost every minute of the set. Despite my almost completely positive experience of the performance, it still didn’t seem to match the absolute jubilation the rest of the audience was expressing. There was literally a mosh forming at a reggae rock band, which is a sight I never thought I’d see. Ocean Alley blasted their way through their set, regaling us with tracks such as Muddy Water from their previous EP, and also Holiday, which is a new one from their album, which seems to be gaining popularity in a wider context.

It’s very to safe to say that Ocean Alley played a very well received set at the Foundry, and it will be interesting to see as they continue to tour how much their bucket hat, bralette clad fan base expands in the coming months.

- Anna Heard

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