Spread the Social Love:

Review: We Are The Ocean - Maybe Today, Maybe Tomorrow [Album]

Hassle Records // "It will be today not tomorrow that they go from maybe’s to stadium filling sure things"

by Lauren, September 16th, 2012 and has been Read 3775 times.
Last Edited by: Ffion Davies September 17th, 2012.

Follow @trachimbrod

If Cutting Our Teeth saw the band do exactly that and Go Now and Live saw the band become the bright young things and possible saviours of the good old fashioned British guitar band then Maybe Today, Maybe Tomorrow is the sound of We Are The Ocean refined and grown up. The band’s latest and greatest is their mission statement as Liam Cromby cries: “These are the things that are always on my mind,” on the sensitive and painful prelude to the record, ‘Stanford Rivers.’ It’s a record that defines the We Are The Ocean sound showing they’re more than just another rock band and clearly defines them as the leaders of the new school of Brit-Rock that includes Lower Than Atlantis and Don Broco.

All three We Are The Ocean releases are worthy of your time, but this is just that little bit more defined, more polished, and all together more addictive. It’s all centred around Liam Cromby’s vocals which are at the front of the mix in every track here and for good reason. He is easily one of the most accomplished vocalists in the British rock scene and his ability to flip between a hoarse growl and creamy croon make him hard to ignore. He and We Are The Ocean have what I have just now deemed the Foo Fighters Factor; which is to say they’re the perfect combination of alternative cool and mainstream musicality. Tracks like the jaunty ‘Pass Me By’ and the edgy fist pumping first single ‘Bleed’ are polar opposites and examples of just how diverse this band really are, something they’ve never demonstrated as well as they have here.

Every track, all the way to acoustic finale ‘Chin Up, Son’, which has a lovely Frank Turner style story quality, slots in just right to create a cohesive record where the tracks consecutively build upon and support each other. This story quality is something which We Are The Ocean really drive home on this record. It’s much more honest than anything they’ve ever written before and is thematically a snapshot of where they are right now as individuals, each song coming to you as a polaroid in a photo album. The chorus to ‘Young Heart’ might come off as a bit twee, but it’s these sort of simple heartfelt lyrics that have won them so many fans; “Hello mother, hello father, can you hear me, can you see me, I’m trying to be better, is it working, am I ever going to make something of myself put the past upon the shelf?” Throughout the lyrics are similarly thinly veiled, but this doesn’t always have to be negative. On ‘The Road’, “So face the truth or suffer and lose, all the games you play keep pushing me further away,” the simple formula is perfected and Cromby’s throaty vocals are complemented by the lush multi-layering and tinny guitar timbre that is practically a lesson in how to combine shredding and rhythm.

Technically We Are The Ocean have gotten much better. Maybe Today, Maybe Tomorrow is more complex and robust than their former works, yet still has that raw power that made Cutting Our Teeth stand out in the first place. Structurally everything’s fairly standard, but it’s what We Are The Ocean do within that framework that’s gone up a notch. ‘Golden Gate’ has some subtle and wonderful keyboard trickling throughout which is beautifully weird, it also sees them use spoken word and feedback, making it one of the most interesting songs on the record, all the while you’ll be singing along. It’s these touches that show We Are The Ocean are looking to experiment more than your average rockers and they’re doing so very cleverly here as you’ll still be attempting to sing to nearly ever track on offer; they’re anthemic like that. As soon as ‘Story Of A Modern Child’ kicks in it drags you to the bottom of the ocean and holds you in place while they scream in your face, it’s not just a strong song, it’s a fucking muscley song that almost makes the weaker tracks bearable.



It’s far from perfect, there are weaker tracks here, but they’re far and few between, it’s a record of progression for a band that continue to morph with every release. It sets We Are The Ocean aside as ones to watch, ones to back now, because it will be today not tomorrow that they go from maybe’s to stadium filling sure things.
Maybe Today, Maybe Tomorrow is out September 17th on Hassle Records.

Listen To:

• ‘The Road’
• ‘Golden Gate’
• ‘Bleed’