Words by Jamie Reynolds / photos by Marcus Maschwitz

Playing the Electric Ballroom must be a dream come true for the Essex boys but it’s been due to We Are The Ocean for a while now but tonight is more a treat for the fans. As I make my way a little closer to the stage for the headliners the first unusual thing is that Tom’s drums have allies in the form of two drummers from Stomp. Launching into What It Feels Like, Dan and the boys sound huger than ever. The added percussion’s pulsate the masses into a massive whirlwind of arms and legs. The new direction of the band is a phenomenal show of maturity in their songwriting and they follow that through in their live set tonight.

Lucky One’s ups the frenzy levels around the front while These Days, I Have Nothing builds on the crazy to the point that Dan invades the crowd for his own slice of the action. A minor set back with Dan being injured sees the unusual ‘once in a lifetime’ appearance of Alfie taking up the vocal duty’s of (I’ll Grab You By The) Neck of the Woods. It’s a damn good job on Alfie’s part and although Dan is sadly missed for the few minutes he is away but this truly is something special.

It’s a hard task keeping tabs on my notes tonight’s when all I want to do is get involved but it’s a no win situation, As songs fly by the whole sets slowly starts etching it’s way into my list of ‘all time favourite show’s’ and by the end of the night it’s pretty much chiseled it’s way in to my top 5.

Words by Eric Cannon

Evolution is one thing but it feels like We Are The Ocean have jumped the ladder like The Incredible Hulk. Go Now And Live is the second album from probably one of Britain’s nicest bands and it’s a bloody masterpiece. Trouble is Temporary, Time Is Tonic boldly goes where no other WATO song has gone before and it’s a perfect example of the cutting edge sounds to follow.

What It Feels Like and The Waiting Room give us those fist in the air choruses, it’s songs like these that will undoubtedly push the band further into the mainstream but without the cost of selling out to that WATO signature feel. For me the album is the sound of a band experimenting and pushing their boundaries coming out with something extraordinary, they have taken so many chances on this record and it’s bound to pay off.

The biggest exploration this record takes is on the vocal side of things, both Dan and Liam have delved deep and pushed their vocals in so many interesting and unique ways. Now & Then and Before I Die are probably my two stand out favourites but this is one of those albums you can listen from start to finish and not be disappointed with any of the tracks. It truly is a masterpiece and firmly pushes the band away from any slander that they sound like Alexisonfire. Go Now And Live is the sound of the future, it’s originality at it’s finest.

10/10

fun. ‘Walking The Dog (Acoustic)’ by Hassle Records

Support: The Ghost Of A Thousand

Words by Khyly Madder / Photos by Marcus Maschwitz

Ok so is no secret that I am somewhat of an avid We Are The Ocean fan. With this is mind, I set off to the Kings College gig fully aware that I would probably be the oldest in the crowd (which is not a rarity given the majority of the gigs are only 14+). This did not however stop me feeling and acting like an excitable 14 year old teeny bopper fan waiting to catch a glimpse of the latest pin up craze. This is of course a slight exaggeration but it does sum up the excitement I feel when I am about to see a band that I am very enthused about, and WATO are obviously one of those bands.

It was also the first time I had been to a gig at this particular venue and I was pleasantly surprised. As predicted the crowd could be placed into the ‘younger age bracket’ but this is more than to be expected as this is primarily the target audience and general fan base of a band such as WATO. I think what reiterated this fact, was being asked 5 minutes into The Ghost Of A Thousand’s set ‘Excuse me can you go to the bar for me and get me a beer?’. If I hadn’t just spent 15 minutes trying to get served myself I may have responded in a politer manner, but instead I declined then proceeded to neck down one of the 5 drinks we had just stock piled.

I last saw time I saw The Ghost Of A Thousand was at Groezrock festival in Belgium last April and let me tell you, they tore that shit up. I was of course very excited to see them again, this time in a more intimate venue. They did not disappoint! Tom Lacey is the ultimate front man, full of energy, encouraging the crowd and pitch perfect throughout. The same can be said for Jag, Mem, Andy and Gareth, the unity is apparent and the objective the
same……to rock every single person in the room. ‘I wanna see pandemonium!!!’ exclaimed Tom and I think he got just that.

Classics such as Bright Lights, Married To The Sidewalk, Fed To The Ocean and especially crowd favourite Left For Dead were played to perfection. The crowd were lapping it up, mosh pits, crowd surfing and stage diving all continuous throughout the set, with Tom frequently singing his heart out in amongst the action. The thing I love about TGOAT the most though, is their ‘love not war’ spin on the imminent wall of death, I remembered seeing this at Groezrock and it was so refreshing to see at the time that it stuck with me. Much like all wall of deaths which are prompted by the band, Tom began by asking the crowd to split into two. ‘Ok no kung fu kicking, no punching, no violence……’. I think this is very admirable from a band of their stature, as many bands don’t seem to think it has been a ‘sick’ enough gig unless they see blood in the crowd.

Just enough time for a quick loo break and another monster bar queue, before We Are The Ocean stormed the stage with their new single Lucky One taken from their recently released Cutting Our Teeth Deluxe Disc . Although this is a fairly recent track, the crowd reception was amazing and sparked an instantaneous atmosphere within the venue. I was a little concerned about Liam’s voice prior to the gig as he had mentioned on his personal Facebook profile that he hoped it would hold out. I needn’t have worried as he sounded at his usual best, as did Dan with their infamous complimentary vocal stylings.

Alfie, Jack and Tom all played their hearts out and lapped up the energy which resonated from the crowd. Long standing favourites This Is Called My Home, I’ve Never Felt This God Damn Good, Don’t Be Careless and Look Alive went down an absolute treat. The chemistry between the band is indescribable especially between Dan and Liam, there are many bands out there that work the whole dual vocal approach but none in my opinion are as successful as these two. Everyone in the audience were singing along and soaking up everything that WATO had to give. The highlights for me were most defiantly I’ll Grab You By The Neck Of The Woods, Confessions and by all time favourite Nothing Good Has Happened Yet. By this point (the encore) I was 100% submerged in the atmosphere that this gig had generated and without doubt I was completely lost in the music. This is everything a gig should make you feel and everything a band should be.

The boys obviously gave it their all, as the scheduled Nottingham gig was cancelled due to Liam’s voice completely going the next day. The boys ever the gents issued a vey apologetic statement ‘We head straight out to Europe on Monday morning and we can’t risk having to cancel an entire tour, rather than just one night’ which is understandable. I feel for Nottingham, but I gotta say I am SO glad his voice held out for London. One hell of a kick arse gig and I wait with baited breath to see them in action again….soon!

Support: Our Last Night & The Ghost Of A Thousand

Words by Teri Oakshott / Photos by Jemma Dodd

Support band Our Last Night open up the 17th show of We Are The Ocean’s headlining tour to a rapture of applause from the crowd. For a band largely unknown they perform with so much passion that it’s not long before hundreds of bodies start to move.

The Ghost Of A Thousand have been a quiet band over the last few years, but they broke their silence in Birmingham with a raucous set comprised of their well-known songs. Vocalist/screamer Tom Lacey leapt between crowd and stage during the half-hour set and encouraged circles pits to the annoyance of the O2 Academy’s security team – during a wall of death security actually sighed and left the crowd to it. Songs Black Art Number One and closer Bored Of Math reminded the crowd of why TGOAT is such an underrated band who deserve a lot more recognition than they currently get.

Headliners We Are The Ocean have had a long day – various promo events mean that the guys are working full days on this UK tour. But that doesn’t show in tonight’s performance. WATO open their 14-song set with Lucky Ones, which keeps the crowd moving just as TGOAT left them. The following three songs see WATO play a song from each release in Don’t Be Careless, Look Alive and Our Days Are Numbered.

Playing My Heart separated WATO’s hardcore fans from others in the room, as the band played through a song from their rereleased Cutting Our Teeth. Those aware of the song make enough noise to cover up those less aware. Dan’s screams made a reappearance during (I’ll Grab You By The) Neck Of The Woods as the crowd burst into yet another circle pit and sweaty bodies hurled themselves around the venue.

This Is Called My Home saw the energy rise in the band as they performed a polished version and crowd vocals rivalled the bands’. Dan’s screams combined with Liam’s soulful vocals provide a soundtrack for, undoubtedly, many an angst-ridden teenager and was apparent through the main part of the set tonight. As the final notes play out around the room, WATO leave the stage.

Singer Liam returns for the two-song encore with just his guitar and epic-sounding vocals for Confessions before the remaining members join him on stage. WATO finally end their set with Nothing Good Has Happened Yet as the crowd erupts with cheers, group vocals and almighty chaos. WATO give it all they have and leave the crowd in awe of their passion and enthusiasm for live shows.

Words by Khyly Madder

We Are The Ocean are fast becoming the people’s choice when it comes to the easier listening side of post hardcore. Since they were acknowledged back in 2008 and sold 1000 copies of their self titled EP in one day, the band have come on leaps and bounds with a current fan following of almost 27,000 on Facebook. Such was a wise choice to re-release their debut album Cutting Our Teeth with a bonus disc including all original EP tracks as well as 4 brand new tracks.

The new tracks are noticeably different from the album and notably the early songs from the self titled EP. From the initial opening chords you can immediately tell that Get Out While You Can is a much slower tempo track. Starting with Dan (the notorious screamer) singing…….yes singing the opening verse. His voice is incredibly endearing, more of a soft deep growl than a crystal clear vocal, which for me is a nice change of direction for the band. Never straying from the classic WATO sound, familiar strong bass lines and contrasting yet complimentary vocals from both Liam and Dan, except slightly role reversed. This theme is much the same on Lucky Ones and Waiting, catchy hooks and sing along lyrics such as ‘Get out, get out whoa-oh-oh’. A nice change but I miss the excitement and energy of the earlier tracks, but I acknowledge that this is a natural progression for the band as they grow and mature. Playing My Heart is unquestionably my favourite of the new tracks. More of a grower than a shower, but after a few listens it is a definite WATO classic that will stay with you. ‘ Now there must be something wrong, coz I can’t hear you speak. Stop playing my heart, give me what I need’ will unconsciously find itself whizzing round your head and escaping your mouth much to your surprise.

Nothing Good Has Happened Yet is undoubtedly my favourite track from We Are The Ocean………EVER! So much so it is one of the most played tracks on my ipod. From the first line softly sung by Liam ‘Let me in from the rain, don’t you let me go again. Let the water run down my face’ over a beautiful melody, then you’re hectically thrown into the hard guitars and inviting screams from Dan. ‘So they say, so they say. I’m gonna take this, I’m gonna take this to the top, I’ll kiss the air. Don’t waste your breathe and just stay away’. I find this song emotionally draws you in by the apparent contrast between Liam’s softness and Dan’s raw screams. The bass and guitar melodies in this track are outstanding! I would even go as far to say this is most definitely one of my favourite songs of the last 2 years, by any band. Ready For The Fall is my second favourite WATO song to date. I love the slow verses and hard choruses. Again it is the standard formula that we all know and love from the band. Emotionally charged and so personal, much like many of their earlier tracks. ‘Beautiful, she’s had her way now I’m ready for the fall’. Towards the end of the track you hear Liam and Dan working together in unison like they are reiterating the importance and sheer angst that this song brings. Still gives me goose bumps after all this time.

Why (I’ve Never Felt This) God Damn Good was never released as a single I will never know. It has hit written all over it, and not in a gimmicky cardboard cut out band kind of way. It is extremely catchy and a real feel good song. Don’t get me wrong it was never going to win an Ivor Novello award but this is the appeal for me. It is simple, to the point and makes you feel a certain way which is everything a song should be. That classic sound that you instantaneously recognise and the alternate vocals that got them where they are today. Every song on the EP track list is most definitely album worthy which is testament to the talents of this band, the fact there is not one ‘filler’ or bad track on this entire 2 disc release. We Are The Ocean, judging from the new tracks are most definitely destined for big things and very well deserved too!

East London 5 piece and 2008 Kerrang Award Best UK Newcomer nominees
WE ARE THE OCEAN are set to re-release their epic debut album ‘Cutting Our Teeth’ on October 4th through Hassle Records as a special 2 disc reissue. Disc 1 is the full album ‘Cutting Our Teeth’ exactly as it was first time around, while disc 2 is four brand new recorded songs (with Jason Wilcock at Stakeout Studios), 2 b-sides and the 7 tracks featured on the much loved debut EP, which sold out in a day upon its 2008 (self) release. On top of this, WATO also have their massive headline UK tour kicking off Sept 30th and running through October, before they head to Europe with The Ghost of a Thousand for a joint headline tour. The band will then head off to record album number 2 from December 2010.

Along with the album reissue, WATO will also be selling a book to accompany the re-release entitled ’3 Years’, which documents the life of the young band so far, through words, pictures and personal thoughts. It will be available through www.hasslerecords.com

Disc 1 – Cutting Our Teeth
1. Look Alive 2. Our Days Are Numbered 3. All Of This Has To End 4. Confessions
5. These Days, I Have Nothing 6. Don’t Take Chances 7. (I’ll Grab You By The) Neck Of The Woods 8. Are You Proud Of Me Now 9. I Used To Be So Much More 10. This Is Called My Home

Disc 2 – New Tracks, the Self Released EP and B-sides
1. Get Out While You Can (new) 2. Lucky Ones (new) 3. Waiting (new) 4. Playing My Heart (new) 5. Cutting Our Teeth (b-side) 6. Drag Me Down (b-side) 7. Don’t Be Careless (self-titled ep) 8. Nothing Good Has Happened Yet (self-titled ep) 9. Welcome To My Broken Home (self-titled ep) 10. Ready For The Fall (self-titled ep) 11. (I’ve Never Felt This) God Damn Good (self-titled ep) 12. Days (self-titled ep) 13. Save Me! Said The Saviour (ep)

Full list of all UK dates on Sept/Oct headline below, for all European dates with The Ghost Of A Thousand, please check the bands website and/or Myspace and be sure to check out our competitions pages for your chance at winning some great prizes from WATO and Hassle Records

Live wise, the band have already toured and played live constantly for the last year, headlining UK shows and tours (last London headline show was a sold out ULU), as well as supporting the likes of Lostprophets, Madina Lake, Underoath, Thrice, You Me At Six, Fightstar, My American Heart, The Used and The Blackout. The band have also played Download 2009 and the Slam Dunk festivals in London and Leeds this year, playing outside on the main stage (along with Alkaline Trio, Young Guns and Rolo Tomassi) In the past, other bands they have shared a stage with include Story Of the Year, Rise Against, Aiden, Gallows, Hexes and From First to Last.

For your chance to win simply sign up to our mailing list below (you will not share information and you can unsubscribe at anytime) :

Competition entries close on the 15 August 2010 and the winner will be randomly selected the next day after which we will contact you to get your postal address as well as the show you wish to attend.

See list of the available tour dates below:

30 Sep – Joiners Arms – Southampton
01 Oct – The Forum – Tunbridge Wells
02 Oct – ARU Kudos Bar – Cambridge
04 Oct – O2 Academy Oxford – Oxford
05 Oct – Clwb Ifor Bach – Cardiff
06 Oct – The White Rabbit – Plymouth
07 Oct – Cavern Club – Exeter
08 Oct – The Orange Box – Yeovil
09 Oct – O2 Academy Liverpool – Liverpool
11 Oct – Fibbers (Barfly York) – York
12 Oct – Corporation – Sheffield
13 Oct – The Cockpit – Leeds
14 Oct – O2 Academy Newcastle – Newcastle Upon Tyne
15 Oct – The Warehouse (formely Moshulu) – Aberdeen
17 Oct – Cathouse Nightclub – Glasgow
18 Oct – Manchester University – Manchester
19 Oct – O2 Academy Birmingham – Birmingham
21 Oct – The Waterfront – Norwich
23 Oct – The Rescue Rooms – Nottingham
24 Oct – Colchester Arts Centre – Colchester

Words by Eric Cannon

65DaysOfStatic has been a name bobbing around me for ages now yet it’s one that for some reason has surpassed me unnoticed. During their recent tour of the UK I managed to catch them live, so as always I try to do my homework and a week before the London show I picked up a copy of Escape Of New York. Unbeknownst to me this was a record of a live show and being an avid CD collector I was a little despondent to say the least, I don’t do live albums. Nevertheless I decided to put my 12 quid to good use and at least give it a try, what happened next was something else and for the first time that week (it happens often) I felt like a complete nincompoop, yes a nincompoop, for not actually knowing these guys. There was so much hype a while back with the release of the new (now old) Prodigy album and the emergence of Enter Shikari and for the life of me I cant understand why this Sheffield mob hasn’t manifested into one of my many additions. As for the show I was spell bound, it was an experience out of this world, and on their way to Ireland Paul65DaysOfStatic took out some time out to answer some questions for Clink, this is what he had to say.

Your music is a great blend of dance and rock, neither one sits above the other, is that something you strive for?

Thanks. I’m not sure blending those two genres is what we strive for. In any case, there are whole worlds of music that sit under the banners of ‘dance’ and ‘rock’ and If we strive for anything, it’s to avoid genres all together. When we started, we didn’t set out with that calculated an agenda. We just wanted to find our own sound because we knew that all we really wanted to do was to be in a band. And to do that the best we could, we wanted to do something new and useful.

Is it hard to find a balance between the more rock/hardcore stuff and the programmed beats and synths?

No. We have very low centres of gravity. And heavy shoes.

Nice, I see what you did there. Why did you decide to be an instrumental band only?

We didn’t make a conscious decision to be an instrumental band. We just started making music, none of us could sing, it didn’t seem like such a big deal at the time. By the time it occurred to us, there didn’t really seem to be any space left for vocals in our songs. If there ever is, we do sometimes try and put some singing in there.

And do you think not having a singer restricts the band in any way?

Only in a commercial sense.

Yet you have done pretty damn well without one, Has the thought ever crossed your mind about placing a singer,or even adding some spoken word to your songs?

We have done a few songs in the past with singers and vocals, and I am sure that in the future there will be more. The only thing that makes us cautious is that we would always want to be able to recreate the songs live in one way or another. Relying to heavily on vocals from someone outside the band is always gonna make that harder to achieve.

A lot of musicians claim that it’s an amazing feeling having your songs sung back to you when playing live, do you feel with that in mind that you might be missing out a little.

You really want us to have a singer don’t you!?

Well I was kind of hoping you would offer it to me.

I don’t feel like we’re missing out on anything – we’re still in a band. We still get to play our music to people who are willing to listen. There’s plenty of dancing happening at our gigs, and plenty of smiles. We still feel like we’re able to interact with the crowd on plenty of different levels. Words are overrated anyway – there’s plenty of things that are too big and wide to fit into them. Some ideas fit better into sheets of really loud guitar noise.

Live shows are as much a visual experience as they are audio; in a live setting the spotlight is always on the front man, as you don’t have a singer who do you think the spotlight moves to?

Maybe we should hire Keith Flint. I guess the spotlight moves to Joe because he stands in the middle of the stage. He also has a microphone and speaks between the songs. Or maybe it’d move to Rob, cos he’s a well awesome drummer. He has a lot of moves. More likely, we’ll be playing in a venue too small to have spotlights.

From seeing you live I feel like it goes to Rob, visually he is very entertaining, you manage to get mosh pits going, do you get many people doing full on rave moves?

We’ve had some glowsticks – do they count? There’s been all kinds of dancing going on over these past few weeks. And Simon was working with a choreographer before the tour and has an excellent salsa routine during ‘Weak4′.

Has there been any comical moves you have seen thrown down?

The only comical moves come from stage. Laughing at people dancing is like going to a party, staying sober and then sitting in the kitchen thinking that you’re having more fun than the people throwing up in the garden. But secretly, we all wanna be throwing up in the garden.

Words by Adam Jenkins / Photo’s by Brendan Montiero

The Sheffeild four-piece are near the end of their current UK tour and are playing their second to last show here tonight at Koko in Camden. A venue that has stayed true to its theatrical roots, one could not have asked for a better setting for these to lads to perform their unique sound to a packed out venue.

65 Days kick off their set with drummer Rob Jones pounding single down-beats on an acoustic floor tom left of the stage. The rest of the band filter on and begin the set colouring the spaces in between with keys, bass and guitars as Jones increases intensity and then moves without notice to the full drum kit set up centre stage. Relentless rhythms power through as the crowd slowly move and grin from ear to ear as if to say “it has begun”. Hearing this type of beautiful and dramatic music for the first time is like smearing honey all over Megan Fox and eating it up with a small spoon. The boys continue to up the electronic ante as the set progresses making the most out of all the technology they have on stage. Guitarists Joe Shrewsbury and Paul Wilinski dont stop moving the entire set using laptops, keys and an arrangement of guitar pedals to construct a technically flawless sound that ebbs and fades throughout the show.

Although they have many sounds at their disposal the tones and textures used are unique and thought about as each song has its own feel and colour. I must admit having watched the set for about 30 minutes, one does ask the question whether or not they could do with a vocalist. A topic probably on most peoples minds but then again these lads don’t feel the need to have one and there music doesn’t necessarily require or have the space for vocals any way. On a commercial level some would beg to differ but this is what makes this band completely unique. It allows them to chop and change the set without compromise and gives them liberty to truly experiment in a live setting so every show is never the same. Halfway through the set Jones has a field day swapping and changing acoustic drums for electronic drums. He sets the tempo and loops the track and off they go again. ‘Await Rescue’ all four members take up sticks-man duties and drive away on the floor toms.

65 Days know how make a clear distinction between light and shade, soft and loud, and the subtle details within their songs. This band is seriously going places and judging by the crowd here tonight I know there is a a whole hoard of us willing to come along for the ride. Tonight was a refreshing change and it was awesome to see something different from the norm. Hats off to the boys from Sheffeild for a flawless show and be sure to check them out this summer for up coming festivals and shows.