One of the original pioneers of the #indie scene, The Ocean Blue, releases their first new album in over half a decade with their latest outing titled ‘Kings and Queens / Knaves and Thieves’ released via Korda Records.
These new set of tracks show a steady evolution from their Sire and Polygram days while retaining that subtle essence that is a signature staple of the band in general. The tracks feel more like future classics with a timeless feel and varied mood swings within the hooks. The time seems well spent as the album progresses in knowing that the band hasn’t lost its touch, but gained momentum.
Scroll down for the latest tour dates.
About The Ocean Blue
Dream pop legends The Ocean Blue will release their first album in over six years – Kings and Queens / Knaves and Thieves – today, June 21, 2019, on Korda Records. They just shared the last single “It Takes So Long” via KCRW, following the soaring “Kings and Queens” and “All The Way Blue.” Frontman David Schelzel spoke more about the record on NPR’s Weekend Edition this past Sunday (June 16, 2019) here ahead of the band’s national tour.
The Ocean Blue arrived as the 1980s drew to close, and their debut record on famed Sire Records (Madonna, The Cure, The Smiths, Talking Heads, the Ramones, etc) in 1989 seemed to summarize the best of the musical decade. The band of four teenagers from Hershey, PA quickly achieved widespread acclaim and Top 10 Modern Rock/College Radio & MTV airplay, with hits like “Between Something and Nothing” and “Drifting, Falling.” Now they’ve returned with the signature atmospheric new wave sound that’s back in music again on the beautifully powerful Kings and Queens / Knaves and Thieves. The new album comes out June 21 on Korda Records, a Minneapolis-based cooperative label the band helped launch.
@theoceanblue [rotatingtweets screen_name=’theoceanblue’]The band’s subtle and atmospheric sophomore album Cerulean, which included one of their most beloved songs “Ballerina Out of Control,” was followed by the release of their highest charting pop album, Beneath the Rhythm and Sound and fourth record for Mercury/PolyGram, See The Ocean Blue. After a busy decade of recording and touring, the band left the majors in the late 1990s. In 2013, after much anticipation, The Ocean Blue released their first full-length record in over 10 years, Ultramarine on Korda Records. The album was a welcome return for fans of the band and a younger generation of fans, garnering widespread praise as one of their very best. In 2015, the band worked with Sire Records and Shelflife to reissue their first three Sire albums on vinyl.
Frontman David Schelzel is also part of the international supergroup 5 Billion in Diamonds led by legendary producer/drummer Butch Vig, making music with alumni of Spiritualized, Soundtrack of Our Lives, Echo & the Bunnymen and more.
Catch The Ocean Blue at a show near you (dates below & tickets HERE) and stay tuned for more.
“Fresh but also sounds like beautiful, vintage Ocean Blue”
– USA Today“Songs that soar with grace, blend cascading guitars and rich keyboards with lyrics that manage to evoke sentimentality, optimism and an appropriate romantic longing without being cloying or grating”
– Associated Press“Yearning nostalgic pop that makes them so instantaneously beatific… The Ocean Blue achieve emotional potency without any bombast.”
– Paste“Spectral piano plinking and gloriously opulent synth swells – almost as if to suggest 1983 had somehow found its way back to our present day”
– BlackBook
LINKS:
http://www.theoceanblue.com
https://www.facebook.com/TheOceanBlueMusic
https://www.instagram.com/theeoceanblue
https://twitter.com/theoceanblue
