Search - EVENING OCEAN :: The Attraction

Best New Artist of 2006 - A Must-Have CD for any Collection

Rebecca Johnson | Washington State | 07/11/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Evening Ocean's The Attraction is a breathtaking masterpiece that inspires complete and utter abandon into musical bliss. The styles shift from ambient to dance and from pure pop to mesmerizing electronica. This magical debut album was mastered by Don Grossinger, who previously mastered projects for Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones and Faithless.



The Attraction instantly connects with deep currents surging from the center of energy itself and in dramatic clarity reveals a musical destiny. Piano moves at a mesmerizing speed, then awakens into a deep ambiance alive with mystery and building passion. The intensity of the desire leaves you pleasantly stunned.



Senses Awake is a surprising ancestral fusion, a mingling of earth and sky with days slipping by planets in an inspired soundscape that melts into sublime moments of anticipation. I was left speechless only awaiting the next note moving from earth into a mirror of sound drenched landscapes. This is perhaps one of the most beautiful pieces of music you will ever hear in this lifetime and as it saturates your consciousness you may wish to listen to it again and again. It is the most peaceful place my soul has ever been.



Waiting For You At The Subway Platform is a new world of beats and speeding blurs of metallic textures as the music takes off in a fast-paced alchemy. Each moment fully captures your attention as it propels you into vast open spaces.



Ending is a sexy pop tempo awakening where a master of moods leads you to lush ecstatic landscapes where cabs wait for lovers on rain-drenched streets. Symphonic and perfectly balanced, "First, The Heights," is a place where strings ascend in sensory swirls and build into a moment of silence.



Trusting You With Everything is stirring and beautiful, with inspired undercurrents seeking to draw you beneath into an underwater world. It is as if you are discovering sounds for the first time, uncovering a future of possibility.



The Note quickly follows in a sweet silky kiss of sound. Delicate in beauty, it creates the most sublime moment on this album. The dreamy quality leads perfectly into Haze where guitar creates a mood reminiscent of a walk outside beneath the stars.



The awakening in Friday is a world of percussion where dance beats create a club energy, but this can also be enjoyed for the dynamic strengths and surrender into sound.



To be lost within is to wander in Night Walk. This deeply sensual track moves in and out of reality. Film directors will fall in love with this instantly. With rapid pacing and exciting flourishes, you can truly walk into another world. Night Walk is a mingling of supreme beauty interlaced with moments of exquisite curiosity. Stunning and Revelatory! Possibly a vision of the future of music.



Aurora (Sleepless) mellows the mood and takes the pace to a tranquil open space as Waves delves into World Music and turns the album inside out.



The emotional beauty in Perfect Summer Sky perfectly captures longing and passion. Such magnificence is rare and it may provoke the deepest and most exquisite emotions.



Going Home defies inertia and has the feeling of a plane taking off to a mysterious destination. Every Time I Say Your Name is an angelic and awe-inspiring track that seems to reflect the album's soul. Share Love has unique mind bending sounds that complete this musical journey.



Evening Ocean is the most amazing musical discovery of 2006 and is a must-buy CD. The stunning artwork and photography by Natalie Shau will make this a collector's item.



The Attraction is truly love at first listen...



~The Rebecca Review

"

Tide is in

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 10/01/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Electro-piano outfit Evening Ocean certainly lives up to its name, which not many bands do (if they even try). Their debut album "The Attraction" is a shimmering, scintillating mixture of ambient electronica and gentle pianopop melodies, and it's a bit like sitting by the ocean during a rainstorm, listening to the waves. The best thing is, you don't get wet.



It opens with a tripping piano melody that grows in intensity, and occasionally becomes murky and sensual, as if the piano were being submerged. But the sound completely changes with "Senses Awake," becoming a chillout song like Venus Hum on some major downers, and then changing again with the slow-moving glitchpop of "Waiting For You At The Subway Platform."



From there on, Evening Ocean tries out combos of the above styles, dabbling in swelling string pop, ambient piano melodies, and even some languid guitar overlaid with a fine layer of synth. But in the second half of the album, they have more of the straightforward electronic songs such as the hazy techno of "Friday," the muted glitch beats of "Night Walk," and the smooth ripples of "Waves."



Some electronic albums use traditional instruments, and some don't. But Evening Ocean is one of the few bands I've heard that balances the electronic and organic in almost equal measure -- and what's more, the fusion sounds almost completely natural in every song. It doesn't feel like a handful of electronica and another handful of acoustic, but like the same sort of songs played in different instruments.



And those instruments are used skillfully, except in a few cases like the final song "Share Love," which sounds awkwardly fizzy. The rest of the time, Evening Ocean relies on classical instrumentation like piano, the soaring string chorus, and even an acoustic guitar in one song. There's usually at least a little bit of synth per song, but it never becomes overpowering unless the song is electronic.



There are no lyrics or vocals at all. Nope, not even a "nah nah nah, la la" kind of vocal. But the music is good enough to sustain interest in itself -- it's eerie, fragile, otherworldly and strangely romantic, without being obvious about it. Not to mention evocative, since it's easy to imagine walking on the beach or in the surf when listening to these songs.



Evening Ocean makes a splash in "The Attraction," a wonder-filled little album that lulls as it entrances. Definitely worth getting.



(Thank you, Rebecca!)"

Pleasant moodiness

Kat Ricker | PNW | 12/11/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you liked the Trance Planet CD series, you'll like this. Techno/electronica blends with acoustic basics - guitar, and piano. Good for a dark, rainy evening when you're burning incense and letting your mind wind into moody places."