Ocean Colour Scene - Saturday

by Fiona Hutchings

published: 16 / 2 / 2010

Label: Cooking Vinyl
Format: CD

intro

Somewhat under developed ninth album from Britpop survivors, Ocean Colour Secne

In 1996 I was 13 years younger, at college and along with most people I know, I owned a copy of 'Moseley Shoals' by Ocean Colour Scene. The rollicking opening riff to 'The Riverboat Song' still invokes instant memories of 17 year old wannabe bad boys rocking out with their first fender strat, illicit bottles of Hooch and the lingering smell of Charlie Red. But that was a time when Britpop and Cool Britannia ruled. These days I get excited if some short sighted shop assistant wants to ID me and our mod lite outfits are too small and resigned to the back of the wardrobe. Celebrating 21 one years as 'folk rockers' next year Ocean Colour Scene are back with their ninth studio album and are currently touring the UK. But is this latest offering the stuff of lost weekends or painful hangovers? '100 Floors of Perception' opens with a country air, a deeper vocal than I remember, but that gloriously moddish guitar is still there. Most indie rock bands don't have the following listed on their track notes: psychedelic guitar treatments, claps, flute, synthesized filtered guitar, mellotron, choir of angels, cittern and white noise. But its this variety and depth that make this so interesting. 'Mrs Maylie' has a distinct 'Sgt Pepper'-era 'Beatles' feel. The title track is a rockabilly radio friendly number but lacks a good hook and is one of the weaker numbers. 'Song Children Sing' has a very Primal Scream air about it and has everything 'Saturday' lacks. The subtle storytelling of 'Village Life' is a more restrained ode to the curtain twitchers that folk lore tells us populate such places. 'Rockfield' closes the album with a bang of guitar and eastern mysticism. Its a definite grower and feels like a conscious continuation of Ocean Colour Scene's move away from the album that made them but remains something of an albatross at the same time. With 14 tracks in 45 minutes, it does sometimes feel too much has been crammed in and some songs would benefit from more space to grow.

Track Listing:-

1 100 Floors of Perception
2 Mrs Maylie
3 Saturday
4 Just a Little Bit of Love
5 Old Pair of Jeans
6 Sing Children Sing
7 Harry Kidnap
8 Magic Carpet Days
9 The Word
10 Village Life
11 Lowpostal
12 What's Mine Is Yours
13 Fell in Love on the Street Again
14 Rockfield
15 Over My Head
16 Stay Alive Tonight

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interviews

Interview (2009)

The guitarist in Ocean Colour Scene and a member of Paul Weller's touring and studio band, Steve Cradock is about to release his debut solo album, 'The Kundalini Target'. He speaks to Malcolm Carter about its making and why he has chosen to release a solo album now