Ocean Colour Scene
Marchin' Already

THE REVIEW

A milestone for britpop enthusiasts, a great pop rock album for others.

The third album by Ocean Colour Scene was released in '97 and ousted "Be Here Now" by Oasis from the top of the charts, though only for a week, and consecrated the Birmingham band as one of the most appreciated in England, even though they already deserved it from "Moseley Shoals". However, success overseas never came, and OCS went through a transitional phase that accompanied them until the early 2000s. Listening to this album, it remains a mystery why they stayed semi-unknown in America and the rest of Europe.

The ingredients are the classic ones of britpop: a keen eye for the greats of the Sixties' British Invasion, impactful melodies, mod looks and haircuts, all guided by Simon Fowler's slurred voice and Steve Cradock's guitar, evidently raised on bread and Stone Roses. It kicks off with a bang: Cradock's 'Led-zeppelin-esque' riff introduces "Hundred Mile High City", the opening track and first single. The first thought upon listening is something like: "Damn, these guys sound really good!" (listen to "All Up", the sixth instrumental track, or the coda of "It's A Beautiful Thing" to believe it). "Better Day" is the killer ballad, made to top the charts and end up on all the British girls' I-pods (considering we're in '97, on their walkmans) with mod aspirations. And it must be said that it's also very pleasant, just like its ideal companion "Get blown away", the twelfth track, while "Traveller's Tune", the best of the album in my opinion, combines Stone Roses-esque sounds and drums with a chorus that sounds like an outtake from "Exile on Main St." by the Stones.

Ocean Colour Scene thus confirm themselves primarily as great songwriters, both in their more upbeat tracks, though never overly so truth be told ("Spark And Cindy", where the Stone Roses reappear, or "Tele He's Not Talking") and in their slower ones ("Big Star", "Foxy's Folk Faced", "It's A Beautiful Thing", Fowler's duet with soul singer P.P. Arnold), yet managing to create their own style and an immediately recognizable sound. Recommended not only to fans of the genre (OCS is one of those bands that makes you appreciated during conversations, unlike the Oasis.. sigh).