When I'm picking an Album of the Week, I'm usually trying to pick something people might now know about. I know I've done lots of albums that lots of people know, but hopefully at least a few things have been new to at least a few of you, ideally not all the same things to the same people, if you follow me.
But another consideration that's always on my mind is the possibility of choosing an album specifically for the LP format, specifically because it works best as a single collection of music best experienced end to end in a single sitting. I hope I've also provided you with a few of these, too. Today, my aim is to cover both of these bases.
The Ocean is certainly familiar to some of you, but I'm willing to bet there's lots of fans even of metal that don't really know these guys, which is practically a crime. Their brand of proggy post-metal is big and riffy, melodic and heavy, tastefully intricate. And other adjectives.
Their last couple of albums have had conceptual threads at their cores, but your homework assignment this week, last year's Pelagial, boasts the structure of a descent through the various layers of the ocean's depths, with the mood and instrumentation shifting to match the "depth" of each track.
There are some stand-out tracks, several of which have previously been Songs of the Day, but owing both to its watery concept and to its high overall level of musicianship and interconnectedness present throughout the entire album I'm recommending you give Pelagial a couple of full playthroughs this week. And, as an added bonus, you've got a choice to make: album with vocals, or without? Why not both!
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