Image by Jamieson Kerr //

There aren’t too many bands who’ve had a year like Ocean Alley.

With artists finding it harder and harder to make large-scale touring financially viable–especially when we’re talking about groups with multiple musicians–it’s refreshing to see homegrown lords Ocean Alley hit some major milestones in the past 12 months.

The numbers speak for themselves; 65K tickets sold in Aus for their 2023/24 tour, 21 of 33 shows sold out or upgraded in the US and UK/EU, and millions of streams. Of course, the viral sped-up version of ‘Confidence’ played a part in this new wave of international love for the group, but you don’t sell tickets off a single song…

And as we Aussies know, Ocean Alley have a massive catalogue of washed-out, anthemic, surfy rock tunes that sink into you brain like a stone sinks into the ocean. Their latest drop ‘Tangerine’ is exactly that. A guitar-led groove lays the canvas for frontman Baden Donegal’s unmistakable vocals to do their thing.

“We drove across the Nullarbor with our wives and dogs,” Baden says. “The long straight roads, the isolation and the different landscapes were intense and amazing. There was such contrast between the red dirt and crystal blue ocean. Seeing parts of the desert and sunsets on that commute, the sky turning orange, or tangerine, is what really inspired this song.”

Accompanying the track is a clip by one of our favourite directors, Jamieson Kerr, who captures the sparse and desolate undertones of the lyrics perfectly. Filmed on the drive from their sold out show in Denver enroute to Calgary, in a town called Billings in the state of Montana, the clip follows a lone wolf, played by the band’s Lachlan Galbraith, as he struts his stuff around the small town.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImOq4qzFjCM

You can catch ‘Tangerine’ live at a bunch of upcoming festivals around the country. Check the dates below and head here to stream the toooon:

OCEAN ALLEY APPEARING AT:
Saturday 19 October – Ability Fest, Naarm/Melbourne
Saturday 26 October – Ability Fest, Meanjin/Brisbane
Saturday 16 November – VAILO Adelaide 500, Kaurna/Adelaide
Saturday 14 December – Changing Tides Festival, Tharawal/Kiama
Thursday 17 April – Bluesfest, Bundjalung/Byron Bay

Artist of the Week, presented by Boost Mobile.