Been a wild ride…

How well an album ages is without a doubt one of the best measures of its quality. Whether you can revisit it one, five or even ten years down the track and it still holds up, is a thrilling tell of its artistic merit. There are countless examples; Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon, Bob Marley’s Catch A Fire, and even more recent records like Anderson .Paak’s Malibu. All classics, and it’s fair to say that if there was an Aussie album of enough quality to join their ranks, it would be Ocean Alley’s Lost Tropics.

Released five years ago, the record was an unabashedly carefree snapshot of beach-living and surf-catching; an unapologetic reminder of the simple pleasures in life and the need to enjoy them. It also foreshadowed the musical trajectory of what the boys would go on to do, with deeper cuts like ‘Feel’ and ‘Stripes On My Mind’ preluding what lay in store on future albums like 2018’s Chiaroscuro and last year’s Lonely Diamond.

To celebrate the five year anniversary tomorrow, the boys are issuing a special vinyl repress of Lost Tropics on Thursday at 9am (deets here), along with a Record Store exclusive going on sale on June 12. Both are going to sell pretty darn quick (if you’re a member of the Confidence Posting Facebook Group, you’d know what we mean) so we recommend getting on this ASAP.

And so, we thought we’d take a little trip down Ocean Alley Lane (yes, they’ve got their own lane now) to revisit some of our favourite tracks from the album. Needless to say, if you’re looking for some sunny, surf-drenched nostalgia, we’ve more than got you covered.

Check it below

Feel

Starting off with a personal favourite, ‘Feel’ is everything you’d look for in an Ocean Alley deep cut. Beginning with a ravenous drum intro that fills you with raw anticipation (and a hint of delicious dread), the boys let you know from the get-go that they’re not interested in being mellow on the tune. Then that ravenous lead guitar kicks off, numerous down-strums going wild as the boys launch off into overdrive heaven. It’d actually be fair to say that the guitars on the tune equal the prominence of singer Baden Donegal’s vocals throughout the track, going off on little solos and wild bursts of fire as they engage in a call and response with the frontman’s pipes.

And of course, old mate goes bloody wild on the tune, playing with phrasing and tempo as he alternates between the fast and intense to long and sustained. He also drops a couple of f-bombs as well which is just sick to hear on these sorts of instrumentals, capturing the proper rawness of the early 70s psychedelic outfits that no doubt helped birth the beach-based busters.

All the flavour and fire is all perfectly embodied in the hook of the tune however, building to a mad crescendo before a moment’s silence, all before the various layers come back in with a total vengeance as Donegal sings the title-inspired ‘FEEEEEL.’ It’s a tune that goes off and harnesses the energy of a live crowd like no other, each utterance of the hook setting punters alight as the swarm of guitars and drums go absolutely ham. It’s in our opinion the most badass tune on the record, and it’s aged just beautifully. Check it below.

Holiday

One of the more laid back cuts on the record that listens like an annual surf trip down the coast, ‘Holiday’ is quintessential Ocean Alley. It’s a tune that doesn’t take itself too seriously, focused on the fun-loving Aussie way of life that the boys embody in spades, with everything from lyrics to musical layers defined by a breezy sensibility that just puts you at ease. It’s also decorated with some super salient guitar lines that bounce and bustle in a wavy manner, each note sounding like the pitter patter of a skipping rock on a hidden Byron lake retreat.

The message of the tune equals the care-free nature of the music behind it, capturing all of us when we’re a bit sideways on our time-off as Baden sings ‘Carry me home/ Cause I’m on holidays.’ It’s a track that totally immerses itself into the fundamental desire to leave all responsibility and commitment behind, instead opting to just send it into the night as you indulge in the hidden pleasures that come with reprieve.

And a special shoutout to The Sauce for that epic visual as well, watching like a haze of euphoria as we follow the boys running loose on their annual escape. A tune that still remains in OA setlist to this day, it’s a bloody go-to. Check it below.

Partner In Crime

A tune that’ll make you swoon into the night, Ocean Alley’s ‘Partner in crime’ is a killer example of their range as songwriters, in both a musical and thematic sense. Naturally, the tune is about that one special someone and that fundamental wish for them to be the Bonnie to your Clyde, the Elon to his Dogecoin (sorry couldn’t help myself). It’s another track that’s made for some beautiful crowd singalongs over the years, with the simple verses and emotional chorus just compelling you to bare your everything as you sing each word as if it were your last.

It also features one of the most satisfying sax solos you’ll hear all week, capturing the ethereal and larger than life nature of the song and building upon it with boundless emotion. Let yourself be swept away by the fundamental feeling of the six-piece below (along with a special guest verse by the incomparable Meg Mac).

Lemonworld

A slightly darker tune from the beach loving larrikins, Lemonworld is definitely one of the more eery cuts on the record. Starting with a lone guitar and Baden’s raspy vocals, the tune storms out the gates from the jump with a distinct air of IDGAF. The tune has a tone of self-reflection embedded throughout it as well, as the boys paint a sombre picture of life passing you by and the choices that leads one to decay and loss.

The visual is bloody sick as well (again, courtesy of The Sauce), focusing on keys player Lach as he struggles through his daily life, all before making some less-than-ideal decisions that may or may not be explored in the video for ‘The Comedown’ (We’ll wait for the five year anniversary of Chiaroscuro before we go down that rabbit hole though).

It’s a tune that really reaffirmed that the boys are storytellers in every respect, and it again foreshadowed the complex themes and topics explored on Chiaroscuro and Lonely Diamond. Check it below.

Hold On

A pretty restrained track, ‘Hold On’ is probably the most straight-forward tune on the album, and just goes to show you how bloody far the boys have come as musos over the years. Featuring some steady drums and guitars, the tune is pretty uniform in its execution, each member of the six-piece firing with just the right precision to not take away from the others, but still slay their unique role. It’s all pretty well shown in the hook of the tune where Baden sings the iconic line ‘Cause you’ve got a hold on me’, with each member almost walking in arms musically up and down the musical scales, never once breaking formation.

A highlight of the tune however is easily that outro, with Donegal roaring a ravenous yell as all the restraint shown throughout the track is literally thrown out the window, each member going ham in every way possible as they reach the finale of the tune in a blaze of glorious guitar exuberance. Check it below.