Ocean Grove is one of many great musical acts to come out of Australia last decade, and they’ve had an interesting career trajectory so far. They really exploded onto the scene with 2017’s The Rhapsody Tapes which was loved by fans and critics alike. It fused nu-metal with a lot of the heavier elements of metalcore. Then in 2020, the band released Flip Phone Fantasy which really dived even more into those nu-metal elements. I was a big fan of this record, despite some fans missing the heavier side of what the band has produced. This next, and most recent album, due out April 22 via UNFD finds them exploring the sound of Flip Phone Fantasy even more. The question is, is UP IN THE AIR FOREVER more refined, or is it just more of the same?
Unfortunately, I don’t think it builds off Flip Phone Fantasy in constructive ways. The biggest reason for that is the repetitive nature of the vast majority of the songs with respect to their song writing/structure. The biggest offenders of this are the tracks that I find the weakest within the track listing. Take “BUSTIN”, for example. It starts okay, with a nice transition from “CALI SUN”, but there’s really nothing to write home about regarding the instrumental, and there’s like 3 too many choruses on this thing. The bridge spices it up a bit, thankfully, but I’d call this my least favorite track. “SEX DOPE GOLD” has a consistent riff throughout the entire song with once again, just too many choruses. I get the feeling that I’m trapped in the song when one part seems to be playing over and over. This is also the case with “BORED”, though the chorus is notably catchier and more lively than the other repetitive tracks.
I should mention that the album opens well with “FLAVA”. The hook is equal parts droney and catchy which is not an easy mix to pull off. ‘I can’t wait to wrap my heart around you’ sings vocalist Dale Tanner while a lot of the track is carried behind backing vocals with a hypnotic “lalala’s”. I also find “CALI SUN” to be one of the stronger tracks, but it has the same downsides as the weaker tracks that I mentioned. This one leans fully into a summer banger, though. It has fun lyrics and the chorus is delivered in a way that really punctuates the vibe of the track.
Then there’s “SILVER LINING” which is noticeably denser on the lyrical front. This lets the vocals lead the song which makes it starkly different from most of the track list. It also makes for a very cathartic sound. You could put this in the background of a 90s movie and it would fit perfectly. And I don’t just mean the sound is 90s inspired – the track would work well in a movie due to the song writing too.
“HMU” is an enigmatic track for me. It has a super dope start, making the listener feel like they’re about to get their mind blown at the best classic rock show ever performed. But then it devolves into some sort of Halloween-centric sounding track. I still find it to be a bright spot on the record.
The album then has quite a strong ending with perhaps the best trio of tracks – “NOISE”, “SILENCE”, and “UP IN THE AIR FOREVER”. “NOISE” and “SILENCE” simply have a strong showing of energy on the instrumental and vocal front alike. Then “UP IN THE AIR FOREVER” immediately shows itself to be a standout with its dreamy intro. The drums accompany Tanner’s touching and vulnerable lyrics make it a strong closer.
I had high hopes for Ocean Grove’s third album, as a fan of all of their prior work. I think there are strong tracks on here, and the album is a whole is certainly more than listenable, but most of the tracks are ones that I have no reason to return to. Where Flip Phone Fantasy managed to take multiple nu-metal sounds and combined them into a unique package, UP IN THE AIR FOREVER homed in on one sound and milked it a bit too dry. Fans of this sound should find lots to love here, however.
5/10
UP IN THE AIR FOREVER is out this Friday, April 22nd via UNFD. You can pre-order it here.