The CD changer in my car is on the fritz and I've been too lazy to reload my ipod, so recently I've been rolling with a college mixtape — probably circa '92. In doing so, I've rekindled my love affair with The Ocean Blue.
Those Hershey, Pennsylvania boys wore their influences on their sleeves — and their influences were the same as mine: The Smiths, New Order and Echo & The Bunnymen. They were as close as we Americans came to truly emulating British new wave.
To this day, their self-titled debut
and its follow-up, Cerulean
, still hold up and are still sorely under appreciated. The chiming guitar of their first single, "Between Something And Nothing", brings you right back to 1989:I've never been one for sax solos, but for some reason "Drifting, Falling" and Steve Lau's smooth jazz tones always do me right:
From Cerulean, enjoy the "artsy" video for "Ballerina Out Of Control":
And finally, my mixtape jam, "Mercury":
A quick check of the band's official website shows they're still active and plan to put out a new album — their first in more than 10 years — sometime in 2011. Welcome back, boys.
