Single Review: Obsidian Oceans

I can’t believe it is more than a year since I wrote about JP’s last album, Light Years, but it was and now here he is with the new single from the forthcoming third album, Patience Way. Arrays never sound like the work of just one man but always come across as a full band, which says a great deal about the skill of the person behind it all. Drums are often the element which fail in a project like this but here JP has them nailed down to provide the right amount of aggression, with the guitars and bass often tied together. There is actually quite a lot of guitars overlaid here, with most of them tied in with the bass to create a really crunchy bottom end and then there is another adding additional notes at the top of the neck to create a Muse-style feeling.

Right from the off one is brought deep inside the world of the hook, the melodic almost poppy mentality which combines with hard rock, which if it was turned up a notch further would be very close indeed to the amazing Wildhearts. One can imagine JP and Ginger having conversations about the best way to confuse people is to produce something that is obviously aimed at a heavy audience but is full of pop twists and melodies. At a little over two minutes, one thinks the song may be finishing but instead we get taken into a new section which is just slightly more downbeat which allows JP to come back with some real aggression. The double-tracked vocals add presence throughout, and the result is another well-crafted number from Arrays which takes us on a journey of emotions and styles while always staying true to its underground indie melodic hard rock heart. Solid.