Ocean Grove drop Brit-pop-sounding new tune, 'Sunny'

Ocean Grove goes Brit-pop on 'Sunny'. 

Ocean Grove just loves to keep people on their feet; you can't really knock this band for staying the same or repeating themselves. Anyone hoping for a heavier sound as per 'The Rhapsody Tapes' or earlier is just dreaming at this point; let's move on and take their new work for what it is. Because whether you love or hate the new stuff, you can't deny that it's not at the very least different and interesting.

So what is 'Sunny'? After the 2000's alternative of 'Ask For The Anthem,' and after the more familiar nu-metal grooves and riffs of 'Junkie$,' 'Sunny' is again something else entirely. It's a summer-themed, Brit-pop twist for the band; a big rock song with arena-level hooks and guitars that still has the OG-branded weirdness to its lyrics (with potential references to Trainspotting and Requiem for a Dream alongside serious themes of negative thoughts and addictions) and a Nirvana-inspired modulated riff around the two-minute mark. It's got more in common with groups like Blur rather than Korn or any number of their hardcore/metalcore Aussie peers, yet still mixes in their alt-rock and grunge tendencies. It probably won't be your go-to Ocean Grove song, but it's honestly not bad either.

Their second LP, 'Flip Phone Fantasy' - a title that not only rolls off the tongue but one that'll no doubt best summarize the bygone-era musical ideas heard on it - drops early 2020.