Send "Oceansize " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Sputnikmusic |
 Constantly (and usually haphazardly) slapped with the "prog" label, Manchester 5-piece Oceansize have made reinventing themselves habit over the past decade. 2003's Effloresce, a masterpiece in its own right, bled the post-rock popular for its time, yet tempered the sound to befit their grunge core. This synthesis proved to be a tall order to live up to. Instead of expanding the sonic offering of their debut, they proceeded to release two completely different records; Everyone Into Position was a somewhat successful foray into pop, whereas Frames was a polar opposite scatterbrained affair.Preceded by typical any-band promises of better/faster/stronger, it's actually refreshing that Self Preserved While the Bodies Float Up doesn't try to reinvent the wheel yet again. If anything, it iterates 2010's take on ridiculous album titles while quite-possibly being the first logical Oceansize follow-up ever. Comparatively, Self Preserved is a more condensed and focused extension of Frames. Opener "Part Cardiac" offers a dissonant and chaotic take on sludge, while bringing atmosphere center-stage and avoiding heavy for sake of heavy gimmickry. This kicks off an epic string of tracks with space-rock anthem "Superimposer", the poly-rhythmic destruction of "Build Us a Rocket Then...", and the poppy atmospherics of "Oscar Acceptance Speech" - a 4-track sequence worth the price of the record alone....full text |
| Bbc |
| The world would be a better place if more bands followed the same path as Oceansize. I’m not talking about aping the majestic, autumnal post-rock pomp that the Manchester-based quintet has conquered over the past dozen years. I’m talking about building a career on foundations of substance and passion, developing a sound whilst retaining an identity. This is why Self Preserved While the Bodies Float Up is possibly their best album yet. When they burst onto the scene with debut LP Effloresce in 2003, everyone was talking about their sound: it caressed the ears with luxurious bombast as much as it vanquished silences with razor-sharp shards of thunderous catharsis. Seven years later they are still the band music lovers adore, but the edges of their sonic spectrum have stretched. There is more restraint, but also there is more emphasis: if SPWTBFU is Oceansize’s heaviest album, it’s quite clearly also their most diverse. Their music has certainly progressed, but so has their approach. Whereas in the past the band would use every last second available on a compact disc, SPWTBFU comes in at just over 50 minutes. Consequently, the songs are punchier, quicker to the point and, interestingly, more accessible. Opener Part Cardiac subtly provides the album title amongst Mike Vennart’s menacing opening riffs and howls, then the energetic It’s My Tail and I’ll Chase It If I Want To brings tremendous vitality back before the album closes. The crashing guitars in Build Us a Rocket Then… fly with the glorious intent that infiltrates the whole album....full text |
| Music.is-amazing |
| One of the UK's true innovators, Oceansize have carved a unique place for themselves in the music scene. Previous albums "Effloresce", "Everyone Into Position" and "Frames", recent DVD "Feed To Feed" and a series of EP's have been hugely critically acclaimed. This acclaim, in part recognition that Oceansizelook to do things differently to the mainstream. So what does Oceansize actually sound like? To answer that, we'd need to start coughing out logic-free cod-philosophical analogies. The band love texture, dimension, fucking about with time, discord, dissonance, and the element of surprise. The sound might be progressive but never forgets the importance of a good song. YEAH!...full text |
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