The Stills Album: “Oceans Will Rise [Digipak]”

The 80's feel and overtones on this album come mainly from the vocals, which is just an observation and not a negative, a style of sound but not a replication. I find that much of the musical sound is much more on the 'newer' side, with well-written, well-sung, well-played, and thoughtful songs that are quite good overall. It's an excellent album, but not a superb one (the superb ranks are very few), good enough to put in your player and just let it run through... because all of the songs are good to my ears, some great, which makes it worth owning because so many albums put out these days have only but 2-3 good, or great (or just one!), songs at best and the rest just seem to totally suck. Rather than bore you with my prattle about each track, I suggest you give a listen to the samples provided here on amazon and then buy the cd or download the album.

So it seems as I believed they would after Without Feathers came out, The Stills have returned to form and better than ever. I am a huge fan of both Logic and Without Feathers, however I think all true Stills fans can't even deny that The Stills belong rocking out rather than go in a more organic territory as they did with their second album. But what I'm shocked at is how this album is being so negatively received by Stills fans calling them "comprising to mainstreamers." What is wrong with experimentation of bands? Each time a band does it whether it's The Strokes, Bloc Party, The Stills, it's like all the fans freak out and chant "oh waaah it's just not the same." Well we all love LWBYH but I want to hear more from The Stills, particularly growth. And what I admire so much from Oceans Will Rise is how amazingly well-fitted the band is in their attempt to make amazing post-punk. It's not that they CAN'T make organic/Shins-esque music well, because there definitely are some good songs on Without Feathers but the Post-Punk arena (maybe even a REAL arena...someday) is what they Stills do best and where they simply belong. It is amazing to hear the hints of Logic as well as WF on this album yet it is even greater to hear them sounding so confidently epic all at the same time. Rather than spit out just why each and every song is so great on this album, it's best to look at this album as a truly coherent piece of post-punk genious. Tim Fletcher has by far THE BEST singing voice in the post-punk circuit simply because well....he can. Whether you agree politically with the things that Fletcher sings or not (sadly most of the time I don't) he is one of those singers that can sing with such affecting self-awareness that you believe him and in him nonetheless. And though I was not a fan of them inserting a keyboardist in the mix on WF The Stills find ways to work with their new members in a way that no longer strays toward something that they aren't but instead they MAKE IT do what they want it to do for them. Simply put, Oceans Will Rise is probably one of the best gifts the 2008 music year has to offer and that's saying a lot because there have been some great things to happen. But I believe that finally The Stills know who they are and what they want to be and they are not about to "compromise" that for anyone ...they are simply doing their best and I can definitely see that Oceans Will Rise is truly a great sign of things to come from The Stills.

I came at the "real" Stills with a large degree of fervor and passion; there was nothing since Joy Division that had struck the same emotional nerve with me that they had.

Then came "Without (Feathers) Talent", their second album. I understand they lost their rythm section, but for Davey to come forward and make a mockery of their music by assuming lead vocals was at least to me, at the time, a hoax. This album proves to me he has not given up on the notion that he may one day be a musician of the same caliber as Tim Fletcher.

Why someone would take a pristine vocalist such as Tim off the mic for a mockery that you could only be a fool to entertain as an being an even remotely amusing atristic expression, and then replace with someone such as yourself that you know couldn't sing if someone had paid you to do so, is beyond me. Congratulations Davey, on taking your garage band to the grave.