SOUNDS LIKE SUMMER

WRITTEN BY NATALIE BANNISTER

From dive bars to sold-out international tours, Ocean Alley has captivated audiences with their psychedelic blend of surf rock and a refreshingly low-fi authenticity. Now, the boys are back — and they’re better than ever!

These six mates began jamming together in a backyard shed in 2011 in their hometown on Sydney’s northern beaches. Now having since moved to Byron Bay together, our favourite local band are on a mission to navigate a post-COVID world in fresh new ways through their sun-soaked psychedelic sounds.

Responding to the global shift of current times in the only way they know best — through their music — the boys have made a triumphant return to the Australian music scene as the impact of shutdowns across the live music sector subside, announcing a huge national tour planned for February 2022.

Following on from their reimagining of how music could be experienced in a COVID-world (when they premiered their album in full for the first time online in the Lonely Diamond - Live In Studio session in the midst of worldwide lockdowns), Ocean Alley’s post-pandemic evolution is at the forefront of their latest release.

The uplifting ‘Touch Back Down’ is infused with their classic sun-drenched sound and infectious groove. A story about turning a negative into a positive and always finding the light side of a problem, the song was written during a last-minute writing session in Byron Bay, which only came to be after Bluesfest was cancelled at the eleventh hour in April this year. “It’s exciting to have new music out. The more records we write, the more we can explore our sound and style, which is why they are ever-changing,” says Ocean Alley’s lead singer and guitarist, Baden Donegal. ‘Touch Back Down’ gives a much happier vibe than any single from Lonely Diamond, and we’re definitely carrying that upbeat energy across our writing at the moment. It provides a pretty good insight into the feel we’re going for in terms of our next record.”

Guitarist Mitch Galbraith agrees, adding, “It feels more playful than Lonely Diamond, and we wanted it to be that way. After the craziness of the past two years, we wanted to be less serious and write songs that will get people moving rather than thinking. We felt that we could write music this time around that is less introspective and with a little more storytelling, so this is the first taste of that new direction for us.”

The band are stoked to return to the road for their national tour, which kicks off in Perth on January 21, 2022. $3 from every ticket sold across these new shows will be donated to the long-time partners of Ocean Alley’s community branch A Day For The Beaches — namely One Eighty, a youth mental health and wellbeing focused organisation based on Sydney’s Northern Beaches; Red Dust who work to inspire positive change and improve health outcomes of remote Indigenous communities; and Cerebral Palsy Alliance who help people living with neurological and physical disabilities live the most comfortable, independent and inclusive lives that they can.

Follow the band’s epic journey and find out more at oceanalley.com.au