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Feb 16, 2022 By Mark Redfern Photography by Alex Joseph

Oceanator, aka Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter/guitarist Elise Okusami, has announced a new album, Nothing’s Ever Fine, and shared a new song from it, “Bad Brain Daze,” via a video that also features a cameo from Jeff Rosenstock (who plays saxophone on the song). Okusami co-produced the album with Bartees Strange and her brother and longtime bandmate Mike Okusami. Nothing’s Ever Fine is due out April 8 via Polyvinyl. Chris Farren directed the “Bad Brain Daze” video, which combines live action and animation. Watch it below, followed by the album’s cover art and tracklist, as well as Oceanator’s upcoming tour dates.

Nothing’s Ever Fine is Oceanator’s sophomore album, the follow-up to her debut album, Things I Never Said, which initially came out in August 2020 via her own Plastic Miracles label and then was reissued physically in February 2021 by Polyvinyl. It was one of our Top 100 Albums of 2020.

Nothing’s Ever Fine was recorded at Falls Church, VA’s 38 North and at Mike Okusami’s space in Maryland, with the parts recorded separately as overdubs, rather than live. Most of the album’s tracks feature drums from longtime Oceanator collaborator Andrew Whitehurst.

Oceanator and Jeff Rosenstock are labelmates and toured together in 2021, which is how he ended up on “Bad Brain Daze.” Of touring with Rosenstock, Okusami says: “It felt like going on tour with a bunch of friends. It felt cool to know that even as shows get bigger, we could still have a little community.”

Chris Farren had this to say about directing the “Bad Brain Daze” video: “When Elise asked me to direct a music video for her, I thought ‘I don’t know how to do that!,’ but I said ‘Yes! I know how to do that!’ and quietly panicked for the next three weeks. Luckily ‘how make music video’ yields tons of YouTube results. The video we came up with is a fantastical little day-in-the-life tale about anxiety, productivity, dread, and being horrifically ripped in half by cartoon animals.”

Oceanator is featured on our Covers of Covers album, for which she covered Elliott Smith’s “The Biggest Lie.” It’s due out March 4 via American Laundromat. You can preorder Covers of Covers here from American Laundromat and here from Bandcamp.

Read our interview with Oceanator about Things I Never Said.

Read our rave review of Things I Never Said here.

Nothing’s Ever Fine Tracklist:

01. Morning
02. Nightmare Machine
03. The Last Summer
04. Beach Days (Alive Again)
05. Solar Flares
06. Post Meridian
07. Stuck
08. From the Van
09. Bad Brain Daze
10. Summer Rain
11. Evening

Oceanator Tour Dates:

04/05 - Brooklyn, NY @ Knitting Factory
04/10 - Champaign, IL @ Polyvinyl Patio
04/12 - Kansas City, MO @ Record Bar #
04/13 - Tulsa, OK @ The Vanguard #
04/14 - Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater #
04/15 - Austin, TX @ Mohawk #
04/16 - Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall #
04/18 - Birmingham, AL @ Saturn #
04/19 - Nashville, TN @ Basement East #
04/20 - Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West #
04/21 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle #
04/23 - Washington, DC @ Black Cat #
04/24 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer #
04/25 - Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg #
04/26 - Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall #
04/28 - Millvale, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theatre #
04/29 - Columbus, OH @ Skullys #
04/30 - Indianapolis, IN @ HI-FI #
05/01 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall #
05/03 - Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line #

# w/ Pedro The Lion

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