The Ocean and the Sun

The Ocean and the Sun is pretty much the work of the core Sound of Animals Fighting group members: Rich Balling (formerly Rx Bandits), Matt Embree (Rx Bandits), Anthony Green (Circa Survive), and Chris Tsagakis (Rx Bandits). The tightly focused line-up is certainly at least partly responsible for the consistent sound throughout this contemporary prog album recorded with few detours, distractions, or embellishments. Instead of the global music accents, spacey keyboards, and electronic flourishes found on their sophomore release, Tiger and the Duke, here TSOAF harken back to their earliest work, serving straight-up prog but with a more robust sheen: the album is dotted with outbursts of hardcore vocals and metallic guitar attacks, with mood-shifting time changes and percussion parts pinging between wrathful assaults and shimmering aural textures. Melodic meanderings turn quickly to sonic fury (“Cellophane,” “Another Leather Lung,” “…Heraldic Beak…”) and tracks with a more relaxed, transformative quality work to soothe the beast (“The Ocean and the Sun,” “I, the Swan”). “Blessings Be Yours Mister V” and “Uzbekistan” take a playful turn, coming up firmly on the art-rock side of the spectrum. Vocalist Anthony Green is in top form, his flexible voice expressing both daydreamy introspection and violent upheaval with apparent ease.