Cosmopolitan, alternative, and accepting, Brighton’s a logical choice of place to be for anyone who wants to be creative away from the overwhelming busyness of London. River Becomes Ocean – still relatively new kids on the block – are the latest export from the South Coast and new EP, ‘December’, offers up a meticulous blend of accessible rock, metal and electronic elements with really impressive results.
The record – produced by Sam and Joe Graves of Innersound Studios (Asking Alexandria, Deaf Havana) – is heavy music made for a mainstream audience. ‘We Will’, beginning with an almost choral group vocal, crashes in to a charging verse of screaming, interjected by melodic singing. The band have already supported some fairly big names on tour (Funeral For A Friend, Silverstein) and their post-hardcore sound skilfully treads the line between heavy and accessible, never leaning too far either way. With the electronics of PVRIS alongside a simple, singalong chorus and guttural, throaty growling, it’s a strong opener.
There’s an unavoidable comparison to Bring Me The Horizon with lead single ‘Seven’. The horror film trope of a singing child adds an element of darkness to the track and there’s an uncanny unease felt listening to a nursery rhyme tune with sinister lyrics. Making up for any subtle strains in his voice, McMahon effortlessly switches between metal and pop vocals, and the powerful drums that progress to a double pedal finale lend themselves to a metalcore sound that’s storming its way back to the top of festival line ups. The power behind the vocals is lost during the quieter, deeper moments of second song ‘Lies’ but it’s a contrasting moment of respite in an otherwise raucous EP.
‘Buried At Sea’ announces its entrance with rising synths, loud, deliberate percussion, and a soaring, cinematic introduction. Packed full of powerful chords, chunky riffs, and a brass like accompaniment, it’s an old school, solid rock song. From its easily memorable lyrics (“buried at sea, you are ocean with your waves crushing, waves crushing me”) to its basic melody and singalong moments, it was built for big stages and crowd-pleasing.
‘For Now’ in comparison is a diamond in the rough: despite its grittiness, it’s a total contrast to the in your face, loudness of the previous four songs. The female vocals overlapping during the middle eight are understated; the ever desperate, repeated “don’t give up on me” line adding sentimentality and emotion. Unlike 2014’s EP closer ‘All For You (The Beginning Of Your New Life)’, it’s not the grand, anthemic ending we’ve come to expect from an alternative record. Instead, it’s in keeping with the theme of the album – fizzling away like the story of the relationship told in its lyrics.
For a second EP, there’s already a massive step up in quality from their debut and although the “next big thing” label is thrown around a bit too much, River Becomes Ocean could (with a few more hits under their belt) find themselves at a similar level to other names mixing melodic and heavy sounds together. If you can’t catch them at their local haunts in Brighton, keep an ear to the ground: if ‘December’s anything to go by, we’ll be hearing a lot more from them soon.
KATHRYN BLACK