Hmmm. Any band that cites lyrical topics as being ‘abstract, philosophy, globalisation and modern age’ is one to approach with an element of caution in my book. Noble concepts though these may be, one can’t shake off vague fears of over-earnest ‘sixth-form’ lecturing being the order of the day. Throwing around songtitles such as ‘Ptolemy was Wrong’ and ‘The First Commandment of the Luminaries’ simply screams ‘listen to us! We’re clever! We’re well read!’ and this sort of self-appointed intellectual grandstanding is something that really does rankle me at times. Couple that with the fact that The Ocean are firmly entrenched within the post-metal genre (one that can more than occasionally be accused of attempting to disappear up its own posterior) and there’s a real danger that Heliocentric may collapse under the weight of it’s own self-importance.
Musically, we’re at the lighter, more accessible end of the post-metal spectrum here. Crunching, lurching riffage is delivered with competence – the opening hooks of ‘Swallowed by the Earth’ being a classic case in point – while mellow verses, lush orchestration and climatic builds pepper the sonic landscape. In that respect, the band resemble a more direct Cult of Luna for organic weight of their sound. There seems to be a theme running through the thread of this record – that of the concept of the solar system, the interaction between the planets and mankind’s evolving perception of the cosmic sphere. This in itself is not a cause for derision and coupled with the dense, layered production certainly lends weight to The Ocean’s cause. Nevertheless, for all of the band’s obvious passion and craftsmanship, Heliocentric still manages to annoy rather than enthral. The preachy, pseudo-intellectual lyrics, the deeply irritating clean vocal delivery of Loic Rossetti only serving to render their message even more unpalatable.
Not only this, the band’s ambition is hamstrung by their limits as songwriters. There’s a fine line between absorbing ambience and self-indulgent tedium that bands of this ilk walk at times and The Ocean really fall foul of this on many occasions. ‘Ptolemy was Wrong’ is a ghastly attempt at putting together an epic, soundtrack-sounding piece and simply ends up being an exercise in sickly schmaltz. Elsewhere, the closing two-part odyssey ‘The Origin of Species’ and ‘The Origin of God’ confuse genuine hooks with whiny, simplistic repetition. To be fair, they do have their moments and ‘Metaphysics of the Hangman’ is a genuinely decent track but more often than not, Heliocentric is a rather flabby sonic experience.
http://www.myspace.com/theoceancollective
