
One of Australia’s hottest rising acts, Ocean Alley, will be coming through Pittsburgh on June 18th at Spirit Lodge.
Hailing from Sydney’s Northern Beaches, Ocean Alley have perfected an enchanting blend of psych, surf, reggae-infused rock, as showcased in their latest single “Stained Glass.” Having toured North America with Tash Sultana last fall, the band are returning this summer for an expansive headlining run, including stops at Bottle Rock and California Roots Festival.
Australia’s most celebrated new acts, Ocean Alley, released the sun-bleached new single and video “Stained Glass”. Premiered by Triple J Drive, “Stained Glass” is the first taste of new music since the band dropped their momentous second album Chiaroscuro last March. Moody and expansive in sound, “Stained Glass” creeps up on the listener; fusing elements of blues and surf-rock with Baden Donegal’s soulful voice, lingering heavily over dreamy tones and swirling organs. As the harmonies and dense reverb simmer, the track launches into its grand zenith, a multi-layered tapestry of emphatic, driving guitars paired with big crash cymbals and a hypnotic melody line. You can watch the video for “Stained Glass” here now and stream the track here.
Detailing the song’s creation, Ocean Alley stated:
“Stained Glass is the first song we have written since the release of Chiaroscuro and began, as most of our songs do, with a chord and vocal idea for a verse that Baden envisioned. We recorded and mixed the track with our producer Callum Howell at The Grove Studios over two sessions with a focus on guitar tone and interwoven guitar parts – as has always been a staple in our production. In the early writing stages we realised it was a great platform to explore guitar production in its entirety and with the help of newly acquired equipment and instruments we were able to create a spacious arrangement using interjecting guitar parts and organ sounds to embellish the rhythmic guitar strumming.”
Hot off the heels of their recent stint supporting rising star, Tash Sultana, this past fall in North America, Ocean Alley are coming back to captivate even more audiences with their soulful melodies and infectious blend of psychedelic-surf-rock. The band will mark their return in early Summer with an extensive headline tour throughout the United States and Canada, including stops at BottleRock and California Roots Festival. Tomorrow, Ocean Alley kicks off an 11-date Australian tour where they’ll reunite with Tash Sultana, before crossing the ditch for six shows in New Zealand through April and then returning home to play at Byron Bay Bluesfest.
Hailing from Sydney’s Northern Beaches, six-piece Ocean Alley – Baden Donegal (vocals), Angus Goodwin (guitar), Nic Blom (bass), Lach Galbraith (keys/vocals), Mitch Galbraith (guitar) and Tom O’Brien (drums) – solidified their position as one of Australia’s most exciting bands in 2018, having surpassed 60 million catalogue streams and achieving the impressive feat of attaining more than 1.4 million monthly Spotify listeners. With two albums under their belt, Lost Tropics (2016) and the critically acclaimed Chiaroscuro (2018) which peaked at #11 on the ARIA Chart and spawned the triple j Hottest 100 #1 and ARIA Top 10 Platinum-certified single “Confidence”, the band have captivated audiences worldwide with their infectious blend of psychedelic surf-rock, selling out a slew of shows at home and abroad, plus performing festivals including Splendour In The Grass (AU), California Roots (USA) and Rhythm and Vines (NZ). Their acclaimed second album Chiaroscuro debuted at #15 on the ARIA Chart, and was awarded the coveted triple j Feature Album, with the station proclaiming “Ocean Alley have surfed their way to ‘Next Big Thing’ status.” The record is available now on Spotify and Apple and you can purchase the album on vinyl here.
“This Aussie psych-surf rock outfit have managed to add the best element of the classic and 90’s era rock that conquered arenas with reggae vibes and the more subtle innovations of today’s indie rock to create something that should appeal to any open-minded music fan.” – Paste Magazine
“Their sound is a mix of surf-rock, reggae, indie, funk, soul and psychedelic. However you want to label it, it is infectious. It has swing, it has groove, it has charm.” – Culture Collide
You can follow the band on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter