You can learn a lot about someone just by looking at who they surround themselves with. The same goes for bands. Over the last 12 months, Sydney’s Glass Ocean have supported the likes of metalcore outfit Dream On Dreamer and instrumental post-rockers Sleepmakeswaves. Plus, all of the band’s songs are co-written by Nic Pettersen, drummer for burgeoning prog metal act Northlane. These connections indicate Glass Ocean are eager to establish themselves on the heavier side of the prog rock spectrum. But just one listen to the band’s second EP, II, throws this image way out of whack.
“Our fan base comes from a prog rock/metal kind of background,” says frontman Tobias Atkins. “The first EP had a production style that matched those styles of music, but with this EP I really wanted to do the opposite thing, that didn’t even sound like the first one. It’s a real throwback to things like old INXS and Crowded House and a lot of my influences – the real Australiana rock feel. I’m not sure how the old fan base is going to take it, but I feel like we’ll get a new market of people who’ll really like it for what it is.”
Atkins started Glass Ocean roughly three years ago, initially as a solo project. He’d previously played guitar in the math metal band Maze, and with Glass Ocean, he was intent on turning a new leaf.
“I was in London in 2012 and I started writing some music there,” he says. “I was like, ‘I want to figure out what I want to say and go from there,’ because I’d spent years in musical limbo once Maze broke up. So long story short, in London I started it, then I came home in 2013 and said to Nic, ‘We’ve got to write some music together.’ Ever since year ten he’s been my best friend and I wouldn’t want to write music with anybody else.”
Judging by the stylistic variety featured on II,Atkins still hasn’t pinned down exactly what he wants to say. “It’s the weirdest EP,” he agrees. “It’s got a Chili Peppers funk track at the end [‘What Plato Said’]; it’s got ‘Ghost’, which is quieter, almost like a Jeff Buckley kind of thing; and then we’ve got ‘Voice Of Fire’, which should be the A Current Affair theme song – we wanted to do mandolin, seven-string, acoustic guitar, synth, you name it; it’s all on there.
“Rather than overthinking things and being super precise, we wanted to just go on feel and make it a bit looser. And that’s how it turned out – it’s much more organic. It’s a very real representation of what the band can do. This one’s like a blueprint of maybe where we’re going to go next.”
II is actually the first release under the Glass Ocean banner to feature the band’s fleshed out four-piece lineup. In addition to Pettersen, who’s a non-playing, co-writing member, Atkins is joined by bass player Joshua Haworth-Webb, guitarist Curtis Martin and drummer Patrick Smith. In order to distance themselves from the stylistic connotations of last year’s self-titled EP, II was recorded with producer Lachlan Mitchell (The Jezabels, Something With Numbers).
“Lachlan really knows his shit,” says Atkins. “He really puts things in perspective, and he’s the most unsuperficial engineer/person I’ve ever met, so if you don’t capture it when you play it and it doesn’t sound right, then you shouldn’t be there. He makes you play the guitar track all the way through. He really wants to make you work for it. So the whole thing is very honest.”
Glass Oceanplay the Factory Floor withPlini andThe Helix Nebula onFriday May 29. Their albumII is out now through MGM.
