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Apr 07, 2022 By Mark Redfern

Oceanator, aka Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter/guitarist Elise Okusami, is releasing a new album, Nothing’s Ever Fine, tomorrow via Polyvinyl. Now she has shared another song from it, “The Last Summer,” via a video for the song that features Okusami and her bandmates touring around Washington, D.C. Watch it below, followed by Oceanator’s upcoming tour dates.

Ben Epstein and David Combs directed the video, which is a Baby Pony Food Production, and they collectively had this to say in a press release: “‘The Last Summer’s’ lyrics evoke aimless youthful nights in D.C., aimless youthful nights that we lived alongside Elise, so we tried to channel those memories and that energy as much as possible. We thought of this video as a love letter to Washington, D.C. and tried to cram in as many of our favorite places in the city as possible.”

Read our review of Nothing’s Ever Fine here.

Okusami co-produced Nothing’s Ever Fine with Bartees Strange and her brother and longtime bandmate Mike Okusami.

When Nothing’s Ever Fine was announced, Oceanator shared its first single, “Bad Brain Daze,” via a video that also features a cameo from Jeff Rosenstock (who plays saxophone on the song). “Bad Brain Daze” was one of our Songs of the Week. Then she shared another song from it, “Stuck,” via a lyric video. “Stuck” was again one of our Songs of the Week.

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.”

Oceanator is one of the artists on our Covers of Covers album, which came out in March via American Laundromat. She covers Elliott Smith’s “The Biggest Lie.” Check the cover out here.

Read our interview with Oceanator about Things I Never Said.

Read our rave review of Things I Never Said here.

Oceanator Tour Dates:

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 #
05/20 - Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom %
05/21 - Pomona, CA @ The Glass House %
05/22 - Los Angeles, CA @ Regent Theater %
05/24 - San Francisco, CA @ August Hall %
05/26 - Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom %
05/27 - Seattle, WA @ The Showbox %
05/29 - Boise, ID @ The Olympic Venue %
05/30 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall %
05/31 - Denver, CO @ Summit Music Hall %
06/03 - Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues Cleveland $
06/04 - Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre $
06/05 - Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart’s $
06/06 - Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom $
06/08 - Indianapolis, IN @ Hi-Fi Annex (Behind Hi-Fi) $
06/09 - Lawrence, KS @ Granada Theatre $
06/10 - St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant $
06/11 - Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl $
06/13 - Charleston, SC @ Charleston Music Hall $
06/14 - Columbia, SC @ The Senate $
06/15 - Norfolk, VA @ The Norva $
06/17 - Holyoke, MA @ Race Street Live $
06/18 - Buffalo, NY @ Ashbury Hall - Babeville $

# w/ Pedro The Lion
% w/ Tim Casher, Laura Jane Grace, Anthony Green
$ w/Pup

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