I love a mystery. A few years back I happened upon a song called ‘Scenic’ by a band who, I later found out, were called Ozean. Who were this mystery band and what else have they released was my immediate reaction. I was stunned to discover that this song was from the bands one and only release from 1993. What was their story???
Ozean were a shoegaze band from the Bay Area, California. Influenced by iconic Scottish shoegaze bands like Cocteau Twins and The Jesus and Mary Chain as well as sixties psychedelia Ozean brought a dreamy, ethereal sound which hadn’t been heard before on the North American scene. The band consisted of Lisa Baer on vocals, Mike Prosenko on guitar, Eric Shea on guitar, and Mark Baldwin on drums and bass. Their only single, simply titled Ozean, was originally released as a demo cassette in 1993. The single featured three tracks: ‘Scenic’ ‘Fall’ and ‘Porcelain.’
The single was later remastered and reissued on vinyl in 2017 and again in 2024, dedicated to the memory of Mark Baldwin, the band’s drummer, who passed away in 1997. The long overdue second reissue was devoured buy their fan base which has slowly built in the intervening years. It’s not hyperbole to say that the Ozean single has legendary status in the shoegaze scene with many bands citing them as a key influence in their sound.
Earlier this year I was contacted by Lisa from the band with the news that her and Mike had reconvened in the studio and new Ozean music was imminent. In addition Daniel Dietrick, who wrote and played the bass-line to ‘Scenic’, has joined the band full time!
Today is the day that we get to hear what they have been working on all this time.
‘Streets of Chrome’ is the first new single from the band in over 30 years and, by god, it was worth the wait.
As soon as the track begins those guitars wash over you like a tidal wave. Then comes Baer’s vocals which have only gained more depth and poignancy. Only having heard that voice in the original songs I got serious goosebumps hearing them here. Dietrick on bass controls the bottom end like a sea captain guiding the ship. There’s a timelessness in the song that whilst it nods to their past is firmly set in the here and now.
This is the first taste of what will be the bands debut album due for release at some point in 2025. On that subject Lisa had this to say.
“We wanted to do a pre-release so that fans can get a taste of what to expect from our upcoming album, which will complete our archived songs and has two new ones.”
Welcome back Ozean, we have missed you and it’s great to have new music as well as an album in the works.
‘Streets of Chrome’ is available to purchase now over on the Ozean Bandcamp page only.
You can follow Ozean on social media here…
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thank you for writing this article too, you are also appreaciated!!
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