The Ocean Party are a prolific bunch, guaranteeing an album per year since their formation in 2010. On top of this, EPs that stretch the definition of EPs have appeared in the wake of their most recent ‘proper’ releases, such as Mess & Noise Critics Poll 2015 and the recent 9-track USA Tour 2017 EP.
If there’s a risk of quantity over quality, it’s not evident on new album Beauty Point. “I got no discipline / I got no quality control” makes for a fitting chorus for their lead single, but ‘Quality Control’ happens to be one of their most assured compositions. Even better is ‘More to Run’, a slice of guitar pop perfection that blissfully fades out with backing vocals from Ashley Bundang, Sui Zhen and Emma Russack.
This Melbourne-based group have always had a laid-back feel, but the coastal recording locations of Stanwell Park and Wagga Wagga’s Beauty Point Drive have pushed the brightness dial up even further on these sun-dappled songs. A gentle sense of escapism runs through the songs, with their darker, more anxious side only coming through on lost and lonesome finale ‘Cracked and Shattering’. The urban jungle looms – there’s a song called ‘Concrete View’, another simply ‘Concrete’ – but Beauty Point is mostly a call to slow down, lie back and just enjoy the view.
Beauty Point is available now through Spunk Records.
