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Aug 29, 2024 Web Exclusive By Mark Moody

Oceanator’s Elise Okusami delivers her best outing yet on the indomitable Everything is Love and Death. With a bumped up production assist from Will Yip (Circa Survive, Turnover), Okusami keeps things primarily as straightforward as the album’s title. The first half of the record in particular is given over to adrenaline pumping anthems. The bash of drums and hard charging electric guitar lead announces opening song, “First Time,” which finds Okusami’s head abuzz while walking the proverbial line of love vs. hate.

Darker themes are explored on the doomy and folklore laden “Lullaby.” “The world turns, another murder, another innocent dies,” Okusami rages as she invokes the nightmarish monsters of South African, Russian, and Caribbean culture. “Cut String” carries across the sense of impending dread, but blends in some propulsive atmospherics that hint there is more under the surface of Everything is Love and Death than a few initial spins might reveal.

After the lighthearted keyboard noodling of “Home for the Weekend,” the album unfolds with its most interesting ideas. The closest the album comes to a straight up love song, “Be Here” plays out like the positive vibes answer song to Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart.” Mirroring that song’s underlying synth riff, aside merrily rolling along drums and guitars, Okusami assumes the best with her declaration of “I feel a spark turn into a blaze, don’t wanna let this feeling get away.”

A couple of the album’s strongest songs are found lurking in its closing shadows. “Drain the Well” has the dreadful urgency of Interpol’s best. Though Okusami delivers something more interesting as heavy guitar effects give over to a higher flying repetitive riff towards the end. But the best outro of all arrives on the show stopping (and album closing) “Won’t Someone.” The song begins as a simple solo electric guitar ballad, which finds Okusami prayerfully resigned to giving into love’s fate. But when trumpet and timpani kick in for the final two minutes of the song it recalls a rockier, but no less orchestral Sufjan Stevens beauty. Come for the first half bangers or Everything is Love and Death’s more experimental second half. Or better yet, come for it all. (www.oceanator.surf)

Author rating: 8/10