Customer Reviews

The Ocean and the Sun

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've listened to this album several times since its release and it sticks with me. There are songs that stick out more than others, but I won't go into detail on that because of my next point. Upon further analysis, I began to fully understand the genius of the album itself. I've never heard of any of the bands that the members of SOAF are a part of, so I don't have a clear picture of their musical backgrounds, but the styles that they incorporate in this project kind of transcend any one "genre". The genius of it all is this, there's something here for everyone. There's a little electronica, a little prog-rock, definitely a "(insert here)-core" influence, but there's also some latin beats in there, maybe even a little dance/club. I imagine that if you handed this out to 20 different people, they would probably enjoy at least one song on the album. I also see them gravitating towards songs which are more to their liking. Whats more, this is an album that can really be listened to anywhere. It's cerebral enough that you can just sit and enjoy it, but it also has a flow so you could pop it in your car stereo on the daily commute.

Give it more than one listen, but I guarantee there's something for everyone here.

I've had this CD for about a year and listened to 1 or 2 songs from time to time but for whatever reason, I decided to listen to the whole thing recently and it has not left the CD player in my truck for 3 weeks. It's truly an amazing piece of work!
What I particularly like about it is that it is "experimental" but not to the point that you feel disappointed as I have been in the past by other bands attempts. For example, while I love The The Mars Volta ( which clearly influences TSOAF ) I have to admit that the long "noisy" parts can get annoying the second time or third time around. TSOAF does not do that with this album which gives it replay value. Check out their Myspace page which currently has 3 tracks.
Personally I think it sounds the best when you're driving, but be careful with the faster songs!

"The Ocean and The Sun" is an excellent experimental album that still has enough hooks throughout to make it an enjoyable listen. I found it interesting that TSOAF appears to be more of Walrus's (Embree's) project that Nightingale's (Balling's) since Embree produced and recorded it at his studio, which is fine with me since I am a huge RX fan. I actually think it's mixed a lot better than Rx's last release. Songs like "The Heraldic Beak Of The Manufacturer's Medallion" sounds like it's an unreleased track from Rx's "And the Battle Begun..." only with Skunk (Anthony) singing over it. There are some great experimental tracks on here. "Uzbekistan" is a personal favorite. Basically, enjoying RX Bandits and Circa Survive / Anthony Green as much as I do, "The Ocean and The Sun" is a great depature for fans of either. Definitely worth a listen, and the artwork is very cool too, so purchasing the CD for it is, in my opinion, worth it.

Simply put - this album is not experimental enough for me. After being delighted by the other albums and their unusual flavor of off-beat experimental rock I was pretty dissapointted after listening through this several times. Just as a side not, I find it funny how certain reviewers will post their 5 star reviews to hype the album the day it comes out...have they even listened through the album enough to give a logical review? Detailing the band members history doesnt mean its a classic album.

Anyway, this isnt a bad album by any means, it has its own style for sure, if any other band had made this album I would be pretty impressed. But if your looking for the same inventivness that TSOAF have brought in the past than youll be dissapointted. Theyve molded their own sound out of there previous incarnations well enough, but theres nothing new here.
When I say this, I dont mean to deny their musical ability or anything, but this sounds like every other alternative rock band out nowadays. The album just isn't on the cutting edge of anything, which is dissapointing. Theres no genre hoping like on the Tiger re-issue, or long meldoic portions like Lover, it feels kind of flat overall.
If youve never heard TSOAF before than this won't introduce you into the potential which this band has. And what is the deal with the track "Ahab"? I thought we got away from this "noize", who wants to listen to annoying music, wth....

Closer to the bands roots, but further from their objective. When I say closer to their roots I mean, more rock, less experimenting - and when I say their objective, I mean making experimental rock, but seriously - theres no experimenting on here, just rehash, get it right for the next go-around please guys.

A potent mixture of ideas from members of two vastly different, yet equally awesome bands (Rx Bandits and Circa Survive), The Sound of Animals Fighting bears the torch for the future of slightly twisted, free-thinking and -roaming rock. A little bit Radiohead and a little bit Patton at times, shards of musical ideas from all across the spectrum crop up on The Ocean and the Sun.

Their first two albums were recorded piecemeal. All the band members (each taking on the persona of a different animal, e.g. Walrus or Skunk) recorded their own contribution to the album at large, without hearing any of the other parts; the album's producer was the only one to hear every musician's contributions.

The genesis of The Ocean and the Sun must have been a bit different. This record possesses the flow its title suggests. Slow-crashing, uncaring waves of tasteful, technically-proficient musicianship, warmed to boiling by the virulent gamma rays of Rich Balling (Nightingale) and Anthony Green (Skunk)'s much-lauded voices. Added spice comes in the form of a "weird," foreign vibe threaded through the album. At its most blunt, this tourism feels more like cheesy affectation; see "Chinese New Year," or the Farsi spoken word "Intro" poem.

Early on, the cerebral, chin-on-palm plod of "The Swan" most successfully merges the obvious talent of these sundry musicans. A little quiet room to think (and breathe) lends Green's powerfully concentrated vocals a new edge, previously unheard of in the faster-paced, everything dimed, wall of fuzz of Circa Survive or Saosin. His cathartic shriek of the main lyric ("I, the Swan, am beautiful and phallic!") plunges us through the proverbial thin ice ears have skated upon for half the track---a mammoth wake-up call after 2:30 of Hold Steady Vocals 101, courtesy of Balling.

"Cellophane" features horns and some very Rx reminiscent rhythms and riffage, but it all lives in a different headspace than the happily-married ska/hard rock of Those Damn Bandits. The slow burn build-up features horns and moribund wails that remind more of Cake and The Black Heart Procession, respectively, and the second half is a more conventional extended Bandits jam, but one can hear that they're indulging behind their animal masks. Lack of expectation can be liberating.

On the other side of the disc, brace for barbed thrusts of synthesizer sampling and echo-drenched found sound dub in the throttling "Uzbekistan"; a Frankenstein Rx Bandits/Aphex Twin track ("Blessings Be Your Mister V"); Nintendo ROM vomit ("Ahab"); and the majestic, Dostoevsky-borrowing closer "On the Occasion of Wet Snow," a shining example of how album closers should always be done.

The Sound of Animals Fighting here sound more like ceramic figurines broken into pieces and reformed in a boiling pot. They seize eardrums with bombastic jams and scattered musical non sequiturs (the techno bits of "Uzbekistan" come to mind), but they also exhibit restraint with tempo and the complex rhythmic patterns at work on many of the tunes. Whatever guise they assume, the Animals Fighting are making music which carries resonance and staying power far beyond that of the dead horses of modern radio.

it was aite. i was kinda dissappointed. i mean how do u go from the genius of tiger and the duke...to this? it sounded like they tried too hard... but whatever tho im waitin for there next album

This album is much more digestible than TSOAF's previous offerings... largely because Matt Embree (of Rx Bandits) wrote and produced nearly the entire album (vocals, guitar, AND bass). I've been a huge Rx Bandits fan for many years, and I always blocked out the idea of them ever breaking up. Now I realize that such accomplished musicians will always pursue other goals in the future, and this album materializes just that.

Highly, highly recommended for anyone who has somewhat lost faith in the state of music.

The musical genius in these collaborations are so amazing that everyone should listen at least once. Experience excellence!

i love all their stuff but this is by far the best tsoaf cd yet.