After four years,Lesser Oceansmarks the return of Seattle band Fences, the project of frontman Christopher Mansfield. While their self-titled debut album had some cute indie/alt-country sounds, this album sees them transform the same sound for a full-blown mainstream pop record, with a style that resembles City And Colour and Owl City.
Mansfield is a more than competent songwriter, and catchy pop moments are scattered throughout this album. A lot of heavy production colours some of the songs, with the softer tracks such as ‘Running Off The Gods’ shining through with their minimal instrumentation. The lyrical content is honest and emotional, but the tracks sound like they could be the backing for a commercial that shows teenagers partying on a beach.
Lead single ‘Arrows’ features rap sensation Macklemore in a song that sounds like it would fit well on his album The Heist. Macklemore delivers a verse towards the end of the song that’s worth the price of admission simply for the line,“I don’t recall Tom Petty in this motherfucker / All I wanna do is free fall”.
Lesser Oceans is a solid pop album that departs from Fences’ indie roots, but it’s a departure that will see them land on more than a few summer soundtracks.
3.5/5.
