February 6, 2013

Ocean Colour Scene - 'Painting'

10 albums in and they've never stopped living in the past

6 / 10 Last year was owned by craven ’90s nostalgia, which might command just a bit of sympathy for out-of-time ’60s freaks Ocean Colour Scene who, 10 albums in, have never stopped living in the past. Lilting opener ‘We Don’t Look In The Mirror’ perhaps acknowledges this temporal displacement, Simon Fowler singing “Because the face that’s looking back/is looking rather cracked.” But now they’re safely out of what passes for fashion, their retroisms sound more loving than offensive. If we’re garlanding not-so-different stuff on the Coral solo albums, a retrial for these guys could well be in order.
Dan Martin