OCEAN ALLEY Announce UK & European Tour To Promote New Album Chiaroscuro

Sydney’s Alternative Rock band Ocean Alley are bringing their newest body of work “Chiaroscuro,” to the UK this September, which includes an interestingly unpredictable yet masterfully created journey from an intense Nu-Metal-esque sound to a memorable throwback to the 90’s, specifically to traditional Classic Rock bands like Jon Bon Jovi. Either way, the Australian rockers’ new album is a must-listen-to and here are the reasons why. Kicking off with “Corduroy,” containing chorus-effected guitars with some delay to create that epic, bright Nu-Metal sound and a high energy in the chorus, especially when Baden Donegal’s lead vocals kick in with the utmost resonance and emotion, it is a great choice of song because of its’ undertone Indie vibe, reminiscent of early Radiohead, in which are we are then led into the beautiful, yet conceptually melancholic depths of “The Comedown,” that ROUGH ONLINE have assumed tells the story of that day after you’ve done way too many drugs. When Baden sings lines like “it could have been good, it could have been great” in his higher register on “Happy Sad,” we learn just how masterful he is as a Rock vocalist, which soon builds up to an ad-lib section in the finale where the listener is instantly captivated by the raw anger and rage in his voice, one of Rough Online’s favourite moments from Ocean Alley’s new album.

The clean, slapping bass playing of Nic Blom throws us back to PJ Harvey’s “Dry” era, while Angus Goodwin’s Funky lead guitar takes us to a melancholic version of Lenny Kravitz on Track 4 “Confidence,” one of the more catchier numbers from their new album. On occasions, such as on “Knees,” Baden delivers a vocal performance in a similar vein to Kings Of Leon lead singer Caleb Followill, as he sings with a raspy tone and delivers a powerful vocal performance, full of emotional pain which chokes you up right until the very last second. You can genuinely hear the desperation in his voice over those major to minor chords, which helps to bring about the sadness in the song, concluding that “Knees” is definitely ROUGH ONLINE’s personal favourite. However, interestingly Baden’s vocal tone changes dependent on the vibe of the song, evident on Track 6 “Rage,” where we are reminded of the thick, rough-edged voice of Stereophonics’ Kelly Jones as he sings “rage, it pushes you around, tries to get under your skin,” and Goodwin does not shy away from showcasing his masterful instrumentation skills on one of Chiaroscuro’s powerhouse guitar solos.

A “Roy Orbison vibe,” specifically his most famous song “Pretty Woman,” brings Ocean Alley’s new album up to a more positive plane on “She’s Always Right,” while the snare keeps the tempo going up until the choruses where it is slowed down somewhat, unpredictably contradicting each musical section, leading us to the psychedelia of “Frostbite” because of its’ Doctor Who-esque synth in the song’s main hook, and the perfect use of delay and distortion on Baden’s vocals. Along with its’ use of minor chords, “Frostbite” is one of the more sinister tracks, and at this point in “Chiaroscuro,” comparing all the songs within their new portfolio you aware that it is a mixed bag, and for the necessary respected reasons. And there is no doubt that Ocean Alley want your 100% attention throughout via the use of catchy guitar hooks, like the riff performed on “Overgrown,” and Tom O’Brien playing a 4 by 4 drum beat to make you get down and dirty to until he cleverly changes tempo to 3 by 4 in the chorus sections, stripping the song down even by the likes of Baden’s vocals where all effects are dropped out and you are grabbed by his clean voice in all its’ glory. You can tell by his strong, gritty performance in the verses that Baden had a great time singing on this one, as much as Goodwin did when throwing out another crazy guitar solo in the Middle 8 section.

“Bones” produces an overall more laid back vibe in comparison Chiaroscuro’s previous tracks, while “Flowers and Booze” surprises us with an improvised-sounding style of piano melodies, the use of bongo drums and a showcase of Classic Rock-esque guitar riffs. It’s as though Ocean Alley decided to throw this one in there as an after-thought for the fun of it, and if we didn’t think that was surprising, the album ends on a very stripped-back note, solely with the use of Baden’s voice and an acoustic guitar on “Man You Were Looking For.” The standard of musicianship skills, specifically the instrumentation talent is delivered on such a stupidly high level you would be mad not to give Ocean Alley’s “Chiaroscuro” a listen to. The multi-talented group will be performing at one of East London’s popular night spots The Hoxton Square Bar on September 12th and Rough Online strongly advise that you don’t miss out. Full respect to Australia’s finest Alt-Rockers.